If only High School wasn't such a drag
by Darkmoonphase
Summary: It all started as a game. But very quickly, the game turned into a nightmare. Their brother is out of prison, the girls' brother is choosing sides between helping and destroying and they still have to go to school while waiting to know what happens next.
1. When New Girls Arrive

If only High School wasn't such a drag

_**AH!! Don't hurt me! I have better ideas! This is gonna be my last pathetic attempt at a High School fic, but this time, I have help! YES!! Okay, well, here goes!**_

_**Author notes: Okay, so this time around, Ten-Ten, Hinata, Ino and Sakura are all sisters. Neji, Naruto, Shikamaru and Sasuke are all brothers. Now, the girls are all the new students, and the boys are the populars. No one has ever dared to challenge them. **_

_**Before I start, I don't want to take too much time discribing what everyone looks like. So, to save some time: Everyone wears wristbands and the girls always wear braclets. I never tell what their shoes look like, so, yes, they wear shoes. Sometimes the girls will wear boots. The girls always have their hair up in either ponytails, pigtails, or partponies. The boys have their origional hairstyles. That's pretty much it. **_

Chapter 1: When New Girls Arrive

Ino and Sakura burst into Ten-Ten and Hinata's room at four in the morning.

"Oh my gosh!! Wake up!! We have to get ready for school!!" Ino screamed.

"You mean, _you _have to. It doesn't take two hours for me to get ready!" Ten-Ten pulled the covers over her head as Sakura flicked on the bedroom light.

"But you still have to get up!!" Sakura whined.

"Why? Are you guys still afraid of being alone in the dark?" Ten-Ten teased as she pulled the covers more firmly over her head so her sisters couldn't pull them down.

"NO!!!" Ino and Sakura screamed.

"Ow." Hinata squeaked. "I don't mind getting up. But why so early!!"

"Because you guys have to help us decide on our outfits!" Ino pouted, stamping her foot.

"Damn you guys are annoying. Wear your pjs!!" Ten-Ten threw her covers aside, squinting her eyes at the sudden light.

"NO WAY!! I don't want to make a bad impression!" Sakura tossed her arms up into the air.

Ten-Ten and Hinata looked at Sakura and Ino incredulously. "Uh, your pjs are almost as nice as your real clothes!!"

"GET UP!!!" Ino and Sakura jumped on Ten-Ten and Hinata and they all went into a screaming fit.

Sakura walked into her room and changed into a pink tank-top that said, 'Hey! You're touching my personal space!!' and a blue jean mini-skirt. She put in a pair of ladybug earings.

Ino strutted out of their big walk-in closet. Sakura gapped at what she was wearing. She had a light blue tank-top that came up extremely high, it said, 'If I wanted your opinion, I'd give it to you.' and a blue jean mini skirt that had butterfly patterns up the side. She had a pair of hanging butterfly earings in.

"Wow, Ino." Sakura smiled.

Ten-Ten came to the doorway and burst out laughing. "YOU LOOK LIKE A COUPLE OF-" She cut herself off.

Sakura and Ino knew exactly what she was going to say and took offence.

Ten-Ten was wearing a pair of tan capris that were purposly ripped at the bottom and a green tank-top that said, 'I didn't realize you spoke idiot.' She was wearing studs and a stud at the top of her ear.

Hinata came to the door behind Ten-Ten, immediately smiling. "You look really good, guys." Hinata was wearing a black and white striped shirt with a collar that said on one of the white strips, 'In my world? No one judges.' and a pair of black skinny jeans. She had a pair of hoops in. Her hair was extremely short, so she left it down.

"Looks like we're all ready for our first day at Kohana High School." Ten-Ten smiled.

"Yep." Ino smiled, then frowned. "Except, I haven't had breakfast yet..."

"Ug...It's your own fault. We have to go or we're gonna be late! Thanks to you two. You have to take three hours to do your hair and pick out a freakin' outfit!!" Ten-Ten turned and ran down the stairs.

The other three sighed and ran after her.

-----------School------------

Naruto looked down the hallways. "Yep. We're good. They haven't-"

"Seen behind us?" Shikamaru interrupted.

"Huh?" Neji, Sasuke and Naruto all turned around to see four odd looking girls wandering around the hallways.

"New girls." Shikamaru implied.

"Oh." Naruto sweatdropped.

"Why don't we give them a welcome to our school gift." Sasuke sneered.

The other three boys smirked at the thought.

----Girls----

"Um...I am soooo lost!" Sakura hung her head.

"Art?" Ten-Ten pointed her thumb at Sakura's first class.

"Oh!" Sakura bounced in.

Ten-Ten sighed and continued to look for everyone elses classes.

-----Art-----

Sasuke smirked. _So I get the girl with the pink hair, huh? What a crappy deal. _

Sakura sat down in front of Sasuke. "Yo girl." Sasuke whispered in her ear.

"Huh?" Sakura whirled around.

As soon as she had turned around, Sasuke dumped a cup of blue paint on Sakura's head. "I hate the color pink."

Sakura screamed and jumped up, everyone began laughing and pointing at the now blue-haired girl.

----Language----

Ino timidly opened the door to her class. The first person she noticed was a boy with his hair put into a spiked pony-tail. She sighed. _So many freaks in this school._

_I get blondie, huh? What a drag. _Shikamaru put his feet onto his desk in a relaxing position.

"Uh, hey, could you move your feet?" Ino put her hands on her hips.

"Pick a different seat if it bugs you so much," Shikamaru replied.

"Hello? This is the only seat that isn't taken! So, move 'em, lazy ass!!" Ino was getting pretty ticked now.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at her, then put his feet down.

"Finally," Ino sat down.

Shikamaru smirked, he swung his legs up onto the desk again, this time, though, he made sure his foot kicked the girl's head.

"OW!" Ino turned around angerily.

"Oops. Shouldn't call people names if your not ready to take payback." Shikamaru leaned back in his chair.

-----Math-----

Neji heard the door open and looked up, seeing a girl with pigtails walking in, he smirked.

Ten-Ten took a seat in front of Neji.

Neji tapped her shoulder. Ten-Ten turned around and he whispered something in her ear.

Ten-Ten shreiked and turned to face the front of the room quickly, blushing like crazy.

"Is there something you want to tell everyone?" The teacher asked Ten-Ten.

"No." Ten-Ten squeaked.

Neji chuckled. To get that easily flustered over that? She was something.

-----Science-----

Hinata slid open the door quietly, then stood there, frozen.

Naruto sneered. _This is gonna be fun. _

He walked up to her, extending his hand. "Why don't you sit by me? I'll tell you the rules of the classroom and stuff like that, okay?"

Hinata looked at his hand nervously before taking it. "Okay, that would be nice."

_**NO HINATA!!! Don't go!!! **_

_**Okay, so the boys are evil. And they suck. The girls are gonna have fun anyway!! **_

_**Well, tell me what you think of this, please? I know there are WAY too many high school stories, and I apologize for adding to the growing number of them. I couldn't resist! So, please review!!**_


	2. These boys rule the school

Chapter 2: These boys rule the school

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!!!**

"Why don't you sit by me? I'll tell you the rules of the classroom and stuff like that, okay?" His voice seemed so kind.

Hinata looked at his hand nervously before taking it. "O-Okay, that would be nice."

Naruto led her to two empty seats, they took them.

The teacher walked in, looking around. "A new student? Crap. No one ever tells me..."

Hinata tried to surpress a laugh.

"Alright, what's your name?" The teacher sat down and started to write something down.

"H-H-Hinata," The blue haired girl blushed as eyes looked at her.

"Wow. What a pretty name!" Naruto marveled.

"Huh? Th-thanks," Hinata blushed even harder.

Naruto started scribbling something on a peice of paper, quickly passing it to a boy behind him who had shaggy brown hair.

The brown haired boy suddenly started laughing.

"Inuzuka Kiba!! What is so funny!?" The teacher asked irratably.

"Naruto was wondering if Hinata was drunk when she had her hair cut, or if she's trying to pass as a boy!" Kiba laughed even harder.

Hinata felt like her cheeks were on fire. _Who's that stupid?! I can't believe it...do people really think that?_

-----Lunch-----

Hinata walked into the lunchroom with a dazed look on her face.

"Hinata? Earth to Hinata?" Ten-Ten waved her hand in front of her sister's face.

"Huh? Oh, hi guys," Hinata's face fell.

"Why are you so upset?" Ino asked as the four of them sat down.

"Sakura? Did you ditch school to try and dye your hair?" Hinata asked curiously.

"NO!! Some jack-ass in my first period dumped a thing of blue paint on my head claiming he hated the color pink. He needs angermanagment, dude!!!" Sakura waved her fork in the air before attacking her pudding cup.

"I thought you were on your diet!" Ten-Ten stated.

"NOT ANYMORE!!" Sakura yelled.

"You never told us what happened, Hinata," Ino turned her sister's attention to Hinata.

"I met a boy named Naruto. But he passed a note to another boy named Kiba," Hinata paused.

"What's the deal?" Ino asked.

"Kiba pretty much read the note aloud. Apperently Naruto wanted to know if I was drunk when I cut my hair or if I'm trying to be a boy!" Hinata put her face in her hands.

"Where's the jack-ass?! I'll punch his face in!!" Ten-Ten threatened.

"You look unharmed, Ino," Hinata lifted her face.

"So you think! I have a goose-bump the size of Alaska on the side of my head!!" Ino rubbed her head.

"Huh?" Sakura looked at her sister.

"Some jerk put his feet on the desk and kicked my head in the proccess," Ino pouted.

"This guy in my math class told me a very, VERY dirty joke! I felt so embaressed for no reason!!" Ten-Ten started blushing. "SEE!"

The other three girls started laughing.

------Boys table--------

"That was fun," Naruto sat down by his brothers.

"Yeah. The pink-haired girl doesn't seem to be that bright," Sasuke chuckled.

"I bet they're wondering why they got picked on today," Shikamaru sighed. He decided to start this one off because he knew his brother, Neji, would be finishing it.

"Maybe we should tell them who controls this school," Neji smirked.

The boys got up and walked over to the boys table. "Yo," Sasuke muttered.

_OH MY GOD!! IT'S HIM!!! _Hinata turned her head away from the boys.

"Hey, jack-ass!" Ten-Ten looked at Neji.

"Hey, stupid!" Neji replied.

"What the hell do you want?" Ino and Sakura glared at their "bullies".

"Oh, just to tell you a secret," Shikamaru smirked.

Sasuke put his hand on the table. "Don't mess with us. You'll wish you never met us, got it?"

"And we won't go easy on you if you take the challenge," Naruto folded his arms.

"What challenge?" Ten-Ten looked at the boys suspisiously.

"Our challenge," Neji said simply.

"They're talking about messing with them, Ten-Ten," Hinata whispered.

"Oh," Ten-Ten felt slightly embaressed.

"Hmph," Sasuke turned. "Just know that we picked to mess with you because you're the new students. Consider it our welcome gift. We don't have a grudge against you-"

"Yet!" Ten-Ten stood up.

Sakura, Ino and Hinata cringed. _Don't take the challenge!! We don't feel like getting picked on!_

"Huh?" Sasuke turned back around. "You're gonna challenge us?" He looked pretty skeptical.

"Yeah," Ten-Ten put her hands on her hips. "You ain't messin' with us without getting something back."

"You'll regret it," Neji glared at her. He didn't want to do anything more than he already had, but he knew that his brothers would pick him to torture her.

"Good luck, dumb-asses," Ten-Ten turned and sat back down.

-----That afternoon at the boys' place----

"DAMMIT!!! Why did we do that?!" Naruto cried, pacing the room.

"We didn't know anyone would be stupid enough to challenge us, dumb-ass," Sasuke glared at Naruto who got the drift and sat down.

"I guess we get who we started with," Shikamaru sighed.

"Huh?" The others looked at him.

"I'm stuck with the blonde girl," Shikamaru let himself drop onto his back so he was now laying down.

"No way! I don't want to get stuck with cottoncandy hair!!" Sasuke yelled. (A/N: Woa! He yelled!)

"Too bad!" Naruto recieved a hit on the head for that comment. "I get the stupid, shy girl. She'll faint before I can mess with her!"

"We'll make it fun. Trust me, they took the challenge, we'll make them wish they hadn't. Sasuke, you remember where you hid the balloons?" Neji smirked.

Sasuke nodded.

"Good, Naruto? Remember where the paints are?" Neji had about one hundred and one ideas running through his head.

"'Course I do." Naruto grinned.

"Perfect." Neji leaned back, enjoying the thoughts of what the girls reactions would be.

------Girls' place------

"We have to come up with some freakin' awesome ideas to mess with those boys!!" Ten-Ten paced the bedroom.

"Ten-Ten, we have no ideas! We were never prepared to take this stupid challenge, we were never prepared for any pranks. We have no supplies!!" Hinata cried.

"I know that. But we have our minds," Ten-Ten mused.

"Crap..." Ino realized what Ten-Ten was thinking and started streching her hand and looking for a pencil.

_**Okay, so I need people to vote on something here:**_

_**What should the boys' last name be?**_

_**A) Uzimaki**_

_**B) Hyuga**_

_**C) Nara**_

_**D) Uchiha**_

_**E) Some name you guys come up with**_

_**And, what should the girls' last name be?**_

_**A) Hyuga (It can't be this one if the boys have that last name, for the record.)**_

_**B) Haruno**_

_**C) Yamanaka**_

_**D) Some name you guys come up with**_

_**Please vote, I need to know so I can do the next chapter, it's pretty important, even if it doesn't seem like it. Please review too!**_


	3. Payback or Backfire?

Chapter 3: Payback or Backfire?

_**Alright, everyone had some cool ideas, but I decided to make them all blood brothers/sisters.**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...**

Ino started writing in her best handwritting the best rumors the three could come up with, and they weren't quite sure they were believable enough because they had no clue what the boys were like!

"What if it doesn't work?" Hinata worried.

"Um...then we run like hell and ask for a transfer?" Ten-Ten half-joked.

"Oh God..." Sakura's eyes widened.

"I was kidding, God, sometimes I wonder," Ten-Ten sighed.

---------The next day---------

"I didn't know that."

"That's discusting!"

"Player!!"

"Woa! I'm suprised he has the nerve to show his face!"

"I would get a transfer."

The nasty remarks spread throughout the school faster than the girls had ever imagined they would.

"I can't believe this!!" Naruto cried, walking over to his brothers, holding a flyer.

"What?" Shikamaru sighed. "Ussually your phrase is 'Believe it'."

"I know! But this is UNBELIEVABLE!!!" Naruto shoved the flyer into Sasuke's face.

"...Naruto, that one's true," Sasuke looked at Naruto.

"I don't!!" Naruto cried.

"Hey!" Shikamaru yelled, looking at the flyer. "I know I never let anyone see my grades, but c'mon!! My IQ is higher that 20!!"

"I haven't dated any more than two girls, four tops, and never at the same time!!" Sasuke scowled.

"What? I'm not trying to look like a girl! I'm a boy!!" Neji scoffed.

"Who would write this kind of-" Naruto paused, feeling stupid at the fact that he had almost missed the obvious.

------Girls locker-------

"What is wrong with you?!" Sasuke slammed Sakura's locker door shut.

"Huh! Nothing! What are you talking about?" Sakura found herself acting particulally well.

"Hey, you messin' with my sister?" Ten-Ten walked up to the four boys.

Sasuke shoved the flyer into Sakura's face. "What posessed you to write these?"

Sakura studied the flyer for a minute. "That's not my handwritting."

"HA HA HA HA!!!" Ino came over, laughing at a piece of paper she had in her hand. "Naruto...you-"

"I DON'T!!!" Naruto screamed.

Hinata walked past. "Hey, boys. Can't believe you!"

Naruto was in front of Hinata in a flash, pushing her up against some lockers. "You're crazy."

"Hey! Are you trying to get us expelled?" Ten-Ten cried.

"We won't, we're good friends with the principal," Neji smirked.

"Psh, we don't need to waste our energy with mindless fighting, we have better things in mind," Sasuke stood up straight again.

"Yeah, that's right. Let go of her, Naruto," Neji waved at Naruto.

Shikamaru walked up to Ino, snatching the flyer in her hand. "Thank you."

"Oh, your welcome," Ino smirked.

Shikamaru started to walk off, when he turned around. "Just because, why'd you write them?"

Ino's smirk vanished. The other three girls looked mildly shocked.

"Confidential. And who said I wrote them?" Ino thought quickly.

"Hn," Shikamaru walked off, his brothers in front of him.

"His IQ is definatly higher than 20!!" Ino sighed.

"Hello, lost? Didn't you hear the bell?" One of their teachers, Kakashi, walked up behind them.

"It...rang...already?" Sakura giggled nervously.

"Yep. And I'm supposed to give you detention for ditching class if your in the halls after the bell," Kakashi-sensi chuckled. "But it's only your second day, I'm guessing you got lost?"

"Yeah!" Ino chimed.

"Alright, come on," Kakashi-sensi started walking.

"Funny we ran into the teacher who's supposedly always late..." Ten-Ten whispered to Hinata, who nodded.

-----Lunch-----

"Okay, why haven't they done anything to us yet? I've been on edge the whole day. I punched a guy who walked up behind me earlier!" Ino cried.

"Boy, they're good at suspence," Ten-Ten sighed.

"The day's not over yet. Who knows what they have planned," Hinata sat down. (A/N: They chose to sit outside today, go figure.)

"Oh, we know," Shikamaru's voice sounded from a tree above them.

The four girls froze, if the boys were in the tree, who knew what they were gonna do to them!

Ino was first to scream as a balloon landed on her head, splashing blue paint everywhere.

Sakura looked at Ino, "Apperently he doesn't like blonde hair..."

"SHUT-UP!!" Ino screeched.

Sakura completely regretted saying anything when a balloon filled with red paint landed on her head.

Ten-Ten wanted to laugh at them so bad, but she knew karma would have it out for her.

"Apperently, I just had to think about it," Ten-Ten muttered as green paint broke out of it's balloon onto her head, completely covering her top half.

Hinata got up, stepping away from the tree.

"No fair!" Naruto cried from the tree.

"So go make it fair!" Neji and Sasuke shoved Naruto and he fell out of the tree.

Naruto got up and spit his tounge out at his brothers. "Fine."

_**I cut it there because I wanted a cliffhanger! Even if the chapter is short. Well, I have a few things to say to my reviewers:**_

**ichigo14:**_ I am! Promise!_

**purpleface14: **_Good idea, somebody else had that idea, I didn't want to steal it, sorry. _

**Long-Live-The-Jessenator: **_Aw...names are important! It's what separates us from the rest...actually, certain last names can be popular. Hm...where's our difference now?_

**saphireheart: **_That's what I thought!! _

_Thanks for supporting my story, please continue to read!_

**AKITO. At The Disco: **_Yeah! Rich rox!! _

_A few other people voted the exact same names. Ironic huh? Or maybe it makes it easier for me..._

**Blossoms of Spring: **_How am I supposed to answer anything you say when you just tell me to update? I'm working on it..._

**niwichan2468: **_You have your mind set on Hinata's hair being long, don't you? Alright, I'm taking it into consideration. But you do realize it would take a major time-skip for Hinata to have her hair long, and I can't afford to do so yet. Maybe if I make a sequal, depending on how long this story ends up being._

_I just realized something so cool about your penname! The numbers count by twos!! That's so awesome!!!_

_**Please continue to review!! You guys rock!!**_


	4. Suspending Pt 1

Chapter 4: Suspending Part 1

Hinata decided now was a good time to run. So, she turned and ran. Naruto on her heels.

"THROW IT ALREADY!!" Shikamaru cried from the tree.

Ten-Ten looked around.

"I can't!!" Naruto screamed.

Everyone looked at the scene before them in disbelief.

Hinata wasn't there anymore! She was behind Naruto now.

"What the hell?" The boys jumped out of the tree.

"That...that's impossible," Shikamaru looked at Naruto in complete and utter confusion.

"Here," A voice said behind him. Naruto realized he had dropped the balloon on the ground, but now, it wasn't there. It was on his head, dripping paint.

"Are you on the track team?" Shikamaru asked Hinata.

"I was. Not anymore," Hinata looked at him suspisiously.

"Hm," Shikamaru turned on his heels, acting as though nothing had happened. And he was pretty good at acting.

The other three boys followed.

"Hinata..." Ino walked up to her sister.

"Great job!" Sakura hugged Hinata.

"Now we ALL have to go home and shower!" Hinata giggled.

----Later that afternoon----

"Ten-Ten Hyuga. To the office please. Ten-Ten Hyuga. To the office," The intercom scratched.

Ten-Ten stared at the intercom before numbly getting up and walking to the office.

The boys secretly exchanged mischievous smirks.

---Office---

"What?!" Ten-Ten looked horrified. _This can't be happening to me! It just can't!!!_

"Such a threat is not acceptable here. We take things like that very seriously for the saftey of the students. This is the obvious punishment. You're suspended for a week, the principal exclaimed kindly, if not happily.

"But I've never threatened inside of school! Nonetheless get suspended!!" Ten-Ten yelled.

"I'm sorry," The principal handed Ten-Ten the already filled out papers for her suspension.

Ten-Ten staggered out of the principal's office. Only to come face-to-face with pale, lavender eyes and a famous Uchiha smirk she'd come to hate.

"What happened?" Neji asked innocently.

"Oh, some bastard told the principal I threatened somebody," Ten-Ten eyed Neji.

"We're not allowed to threaten here. You do know what the reason for that is, don't you?" Neji frowned.

"Saftey issues," Ten-Ten turned her head.

"Because somebody shot and killed several students. It was a school massacre," Neji whispered as he walked past her.

Ten-Ten froze. _A school massecre?_

"Ten-Ten? What did they want?" Hinata asked.

Ten-Ten mentally shook her head before answering. "Somebody said I threatened someone else and now I'm suspended for a week."

"You've never been suspended before!" Sakura was shocked.

"I'm almost postitive it was Neji. Take him down. Get him suspended!" Ten-Ten clutched the papers as she stormed off to her locker.

----Next day, lunch----

"Go Hinata!" Ino hissed as she shoved Hinata into the lunchroom.

Hinata walked up to Neji. "N-Neji?"

"What?" He asked irritably, turning around to face her. Honestly, the fact that Hinata had the same puplilless, lavender eyes as he did creeped him out. But he covered it up by being rude.

"Sakura wants to see you outside," Hinata said quickly.

Neji sighed and got up, heading for the door. Hinata walked at a hurried pace behind him. The other boys exchanged glances before following the two.

----Outside----

"What do you want?" Neji asked the pink-haired girl who had her back to him, seeminly talking to Ino.

"Huh? I didn't send for you," Sakura turned around, giving Neji an odd look.

"Hinata said you wanted me," Neji crossed his arms, clearly not convinced.

"That sounded dirty," Sakura smirked.

"You have a dirty mind then," Neji frowned.

"I didn't want you here...but since you are..." Mischief glinted in her eyes, giving Neji an uneasy feeling. "You like Ten-Ten, don't you?!"

"What?! I don't like her - at all!!" Neji looked taken aback.

"You're bad at lying. You so like her!" Sakura smiled.

"I don't like anyone! I hate the world!!!" Neji screamed, throwing one fist into the air, slowly advancing toward her.

Sasuke, Shikamaru and Naruto suddenly got a bad feeling. Their suspisions were confirmed when Sakura threw herself on the ground, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"What the-" Neji faltered, his fist dropping. Sasuke, Shikamaru and Naruto ran over.

_DAMMIT!! _Sakura thought in dismay. Still, she kept up the act. She curled into the fetal position, her hands covering her face, pretending to cry. But the thing that really outraged Neji, was that she had _actual _tears streaming down her face.

Not thinking twice, Neji threw his fist into the air.

_Perfect._ Hinata flew out of her hiding spot silently and got a teacher.

_Oh God! Is he really gonna hit me?! _Even though she was scared to death, Sakura steadily kept up the act.

Hinata came running out with a teacher.

"What's going on here?!" The teacher exclaimed. Famous words. Neji was dead.

Hinata secretly hid again. Sasuke saw her out of the corner of his eye, but kept quiet. He take care of her later...or rather, Naruto would.

"Neji got mad at Sakura for no reason and hit her!" Ino looked at the teacher, looking really worried with tears streaking her face.

Neji realized just how bad it looked. And what was worse, he _just _realized what the girls had been up to.

_I've been set-up!! _Neji thought in disbelief.

Neji already knew he was going to get suspended. _No point in letting a good punch go to waste..._

**To be continued...**

_**Neji might be a bit OOC in this chapter...not intentional, but hey. It worked. To think he might get that much more pissed off because Sakura was fake-crying. Neji needs angermanagement.**_

_**Well, thanks to my reviewers!! Here are the ones for this chapter:**_

**black and beautiful**: So I've been told... -.-'

**Chimiri**: What's with all the updates? I'm going as fast as I can...T-T Thanks for liking it though!

**puretrickster**: ...Glad it's funny? It's supposed to be a comedy high school fic. If it doesn't say that, I should change it...

**mizukaikage**: None taken. If you're still reading the story, I did that to make this one different.

**xroyal.momonessx**: Right! These girls don't go down without a fight. Then again, these boys are tricky. Stalemates till the end!

I'm working on it...

**Long-Live-The-Jessenator**: Yay! I win!! Thank-you for finally realizing it. Lol. Well, okay.

**AKITO. At The Disco**: But that's what showers are for!!! lol. Okay...I'm just a little off today. I wrote out the chapter last night, that's why it doesn't sound very funny. But I did edit it. Sorry if it sounds odd. I was a bit off last night too...that explains the 'Neji likes Ten-Ten' thing...-.-'

**niwichan2468**: It is an odd hairstyle. I think it looks good on her for now, but I do agree, long hair would work for her too. I think it would be pretty on her. Oh why didn't I think about that in the first chapter. I'm too lazy to delete, fix and repost. So, we'll both have to suffer until I find a way to sneak her hair into being long...

**LoveKibaAndShinoForever**: So far...That is the key. Wait for all the cliches. Then it'll be a good story... _snickers evilly_

**Sakura-hime9**: I like to think I do rock...but it sounds better when somebody tells me I do. (jk) Thanks! Yep. The girls got 'em good...and there's more later.

_**And to those of you who reviewed the second chapter:**_

**Dolphinbreeze**: Oh why do you insist on making deciding so hard! (jk) I just decided what the last name was...T-T Thanks...

**fantasycrazyperson409**: Now why didn't I think of that? And why can't you people just decide on one last name? But you have to ban together and torture me. (jk) Well, thanks for the review anyway...

**CherryBlossom016**: ...I have nothing more to say anymore...Thanks for reviewin'.

**XxSuicidal-CupcakexX**: (like an answering machine) I have gone braindead. Please review again later and I'll try to answer you. Have a nice day. _beep _(or GO!)

**_You guys rock! This is just part one...Ah man. I have an awesome idea but I have to wait awhile to use it. Just a few more chapters..._**

**_ Please review!!!_**


	5. Suspending Pt 2

Chapter 5: Suspending Pt. 2

**Disclaimer: Laugh at me. For I own nothing! Isn't that the point of the dislcaimer? To tell the world you don't own something and then have everyone laugh at you for it?**

Neji already knew he was going to get suspended. _No point in letting a good punch go to waste..._

Sakura kept herself from screaming. This kid seemed to be pretty strong and didn't want to mess with him this far.

* * *

Ten-Ten stared at the computer screen in disbelief. There really had been a school massacre. And by an Uchiha.

"Then...It was one of Neji's brothers?" Ten-Ten almost passed out at the shock of this new information.

She kept reading the article over and over, hoping maybe it wasn't true. But then again, why did she care?

_January 21, 2001_

_The news has spread quickly throughout Kohana. A boy under the name Itachi Uchiha brought a gun into school grounds and had murdered several students. Today we mourn the loss of..._

Once again the name Uchiha was seen. She felt horrified that the boy she loved torturing oh so much had a crimminal as a brother.

She turned in her seat and flew to the nearest phone.

* * *

Sakura held her breath, Sasuke and Shikamaru refrained from holding their brother back, it would only make it look worse. Naruto on the other hand...well, let's just say he wasn't dead yet.

"Uchiha!" A voice yelled from behind them. Sasuke groaned.

"Which one?" Naruto asked, looking between the boy behind them and Neji.

"Neji, stupid!" The boy yelled.

"Kiba," The teacher warned, then turned to Neji, "To the office, Neji!"

Neji groaned, _That kid got in the way again! _

Sakura lay on the ground, completely stunned as Neji stormed off. Ino ran over to Sakura, making sure to keep up the act until the teacher left.

"Are you okay?!" Ino cried, kneeling by her sister.

"Um...Just scared, I think..." Sakura rubbed her eyes, then looked around to make sure the teacher had left. She finally had.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru walked up to them, arms crossed.

Ino helped Sakura up and Hinata ran out of the bushes.

"Well, now. We couldn't just let you get away with suspending our sister, could we?" Sakura smirked innocently.

Sasuke scowled, "I wish you had..."

"Hey, Hinata!!" Kiba ran up to them holding a note, suprising Hinata a little. "Here."

Ino and Sakura looked at him suspisiously until they noticed the blush on his face. Hinata took the note sheepishly and smiled.

Kiba grinned nervously and ran off.

Naruto gaped, but quickly closed his mouth when he received some dirty looks from his brothers.

"Open it!!" Ino squealed, ignoring the boys' pressences.

Hinata opened it and gasped. A small heart popped out with a little note under it saying: _Don't change!!_

Sakura and Ino started jumping up and down and screaming excitedly while Hinata just stared at the note. The boys almost fell over at what they saw.

_Dammit Kiba! Stay out of our way!!_ Sasuke glared at the distant boy.

Sakura's cell phone rang, snapping everyone out of their thoughts. "Uh..." Sakura pulled her phone out of her pocket and flipped it open. "Hello?"

**"AH!! Oh my god! You have to find an excuse to get out of school and come home...NOW!!!" **Sakura pulled her phone away from her ear at Ten-Ten's overly loud voice.

"Why?" Sakura put the phone back on her ear, looking at Ino and Hinata and shrugged.

**"I found something. I don't know why it's important to me, but I want to show you," **Ten-Ten replied, she sounded kind of distracted.

"Alright, fine. But how are we supposed to get out of school now? It doesn't end for a few more hours and we're already on edge with the principal," Sakura noticed the boys and glared at them, but they didn't leave, they just scowled.

**"Fake sick," **Ten-Ten said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"All of us? At the same time? Don't you think they'd get suspisious?" Sakura asked irritably.

**"One at a time. Make sure there's some time between each one,"** Ten-Ten said planning out what they should do.

"Ten-Ten, you are a freakin' genious!!" Sakura grinned and jumped up and down a few times.

**"Yeah, I know," **Ten-Ten sounded like she was smiling. They hung up and Sakura looked at her sisters.

"We have a way out of school!!" Sakura giggled and put her fists under her chin.

Hinata and Ino stared at her dumbfounded. "Huh? Why?"

"Um..." Sakura glanced at the boys. "She want to show us something. But she wouldn't tell me what. She just said it was impotant to her."

Hinata and Ino nodded and the three girls walked off to plan who was going to fake what sickness.

"You don't think Neji told Ten-Ten about Itachi, do you?" Naruto looked at Sasuke and Shikamaru.

"Knowing him? Probably, just to keep them on the edges of their seats. Damn, troublesome brother," Shikamaru sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets.

Sasuke looked at the ground. _They better not get into it. I don't want them hurt too..._

* * *

"Suspended? Me?" Neji cried, pounding his hands onto the principal's desk and standing up.

"Neji! Please," The principal sighed. "Just go! I'm tired of this already!"

Neji snatched the papers and stomped out of the office.

"If I see one more student in here..." A young girl timidly came in. "This is going to be a _very _long year..."

* * *

Neji walked home fuming. _It's that damn girl's fault. If I hadn't met her, she wouldn't be suspended, then I wouldn't be suspended. But of course! She's so freakin' stubborn and had to challenge us!!_

He looked up suddenly, getting an idea. _Maybe I'll make this a bigger challenge..._

* * *

Sakura walked into the nurses office, coughing and holding her stomache.

"Huh?" The nurse's assistant, Shizune, looked up. "What's wrong?"

Sakura froze, then started coughing again. "I think I need to go home, I don't feel good. I'm really tired and I can't-" She went into a coughing fit. "Stop coughing..."

* * *

_**I finally update and it's shorter than short. I need to work on that. I hope the next one will be longer. I think I'll start working on my idea then. **_

_**One more thing:**_

_**Please vote:**_

_**I have set up this story so one of two things could happen - **_

**One: Another massecre could take place.**

**Or two: I could keep it at what I have and just have the girls dig into their pasts so when they get together they try to heal the wounds.**

_**I don't really want to do number one because I don't want my story to become one of those fics, but I'm going to let my reviewers vote. Please vote and I'll see what I can do. I'll be going with the majority. (who wouldn't?)**_

_**To my wonderful...and hopefully patient...reviewers:**_

**Chimiri: **Are you part cat? Kitty!!!

**StrawBerrrybell: **I'm a guy...Just kidding. Seriously. I'm a girl. And that was a funny review!!

**kitsune-grl: **Go Neji!! He's cool!!

**xroyal.momonessx:** Yep. But not everyone's going to be suspended.

**Mariegurl: **...Well, the boys vs girls thing I kinda had experience with at camp one year. But it wasn't this bad.

The rest? I just happened to think up...hehehe...Fooled ya...apperantly...well, okay. Honestly I never thought about it. I just came up with a way to torture the boys/girls.

**AKITO. At The Disco: **lol. I did!

**niwichan2468: **Yay! I rock! Um...Sorry I didn't hurry as fast as I could have. Read my profile and you'll see why.

**fantasycrazyperson409: **Thanks and thanks.

**Long-Live-The-Jessenator: **Yeah they did! Maybe...Or maybe not..._smirks evilly_

**Sakura-hime9: **Yes! Awesome! Yay!! I like being good...

**CherryBlossom016: **Yes, yes they are.

_**Please review and don't forget to vote, it's important!**_


	6. The Plot of Love

Chapter 6: The Plot of Love

**Disclaimer: I don't own ANYTHING!!!**

Once the girls got out of school, they hurried home.

"Ten-Ten!" Sakura threw open the door, breaking the doorstopper into the wall and creating a hole where the doorknob hit.

"Be careful! Mom's going to kill you!" Hinata whispered as the three of them slowly walked up to Ten-Ten.

Ten-Ten stared at the computer screen, it was on a page with lots of feakin' words. Hinata, Sakura and Ino timidly stepped up behind Ten-Ten and read the article.

The first thing anyone heard after they finished reading was Sakura's earsplitting scream.

"OW!! Goddammit!!!" Ten-Ten yelled, holding her ringing ears.

Ino and Hinata glared at Sakura and looked like they were ready to strangle her.

Sakura put her hands over her head, squeezing her eyes shut, she said, "I'm sorry! I'm just so freakin' shocked..."

Ino put her hands on her hips and leaned into Sakura's face. "Yeah, so were we and we didn't try to bust eachother's eardrums!!"

"So...this Itachi guy was the reason for the massecre? And he's Sasuke's brother?" Sakura asked, putting her pointer finger to her lower lip.

"And Neji's," Ten-Ten pointed out, looking over her shoulder.

"And Shikamaru's," Ino nodded and closed her eyes.

"And Naruto's..." Hinata squeaked timidly.

They all stayed there for a minute in silence, all thinking their own separate thoughts. Suddenly, Ten-Ten flew out of her chair and down the stairs. Her sisters shrugged and followed.

"Please say no one changed the channel. Please say no one changed the channel. YES!! No one changed the channel!!" Ten-Ten started to rewind something on TV.

She hit play at a news report. "Watch this. I think I just saved us some trouble...or caused us more..."

Sakura, Hinata and Ino all exchanged glances and then looked back at the TV.

* * *

Neji spun around a few times in his swivel chair, tapping his pencil's eraser on his lower lip. _This has to be perfect. Nothing can mess this up. But their handwritting is so hard to forage!! _He groaned and stopped his chair, slamming his head on his desk.

"Maybe I don't have to forage them!" Neji suddenly sat upright, looking at the corkboard in front of him. _Naruto and Sasuke can help me..._

* * *

Shikamaru sighed and started walking away. "Why does high school have to be such a drag?"

Sasuke looked over at Kiba, who seemed too innocent at the moment. He started to walk over to the brunette boy and left Naruto yelling at himself about how unfair this was.

* * *

Kiba sat under a tree and sighed for the fifth time in a period of two minutes. _Maybe I shouldn't have given that note to Hinata? But Naruto told me to. She thinks it's from me though!! I don't like her!!! _He sighed again and leaned back onto the trunk of the tree, the rough bark scratching into his back painfully.

He looked over at Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru and sighed again, holding his breath as Sasuke stormed over.

"What's wrong with you, Inuzuka?!" Sasuke raised his voice a bit, although to Kiba, it still sounded a bit monotone.

Kiba lifted his head to see that the Uchiha's face wasn't that far from his own. "Nothing."

Sasuke sighed and stood up straight once again. "I thought I made it clear last year that you were to stay out of our business? And to not mess with our girls?"

"So their your girls? Are you going to kiss them and call them your stuff next?!" Kiba stood up to fully face the other boy, he wasn't going to stand by this year and watch a group of girls get hurt.

"No. Because if we do, then they'll have to stick with us for awhile. And we don't want them in our way next year," Sasuke rubbed his temples with his index and thumb fingers.

Kiba stared at him, bewildered. "So you're going to break another group of girl's hearts again this year? No one can stop you? You aren't going to fall for them?"

Sasuke gave him the Uchiha glare. "Yes, no and definately no. Don't mess with them, Kiba!" Sasuke began to walk away.

"What about Itachi?" The single question that slipped from the brunette boy's mouth stopped the raven-haired boy dead in his tracks.

"What?!"

"What if Itachi hurts them?"

There was a dead silence, tension building between both of them. Finally Sasuke broke the silence. "He won't. I won't let him."

Kiba wasn't going to drop it that easily. "So you can hurt them, but he can't?"

"He can't because the pain he brings anyone is far worse than anything I'll ever do."

"Try telling that to the one girl who's falling for you," Kiba scuffed his shoes against the pavement as he wandered off, waiting for the bell to ring.

Sasuke stood there, thinking over what the boy said. He hung his head. _I won't fall for her. And I won't let her fall for me._

* * *

Another earsplitting scream sounded in the Huyga house. Pillows were thrown at a certain pink-haired target with several shouts consisting of, "Shuddup!!!", "My ears are offically bleeding thanks to you!" and "We get it!!!"

"Wow. He's..." Sakura was unable to finish her sentence thanks to shock. She hung her head, her green eyes were wide.

"Out of jail..." Hinata finished, looking at the now black TV.

* * *

Neji tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the front door to open. As soon as it did, Neji dragged his brothers inside and shoved them into chairs at the kitchen table. He slammed a peice of paper in front of Naruto along with a pencil and slammed the same items in front of Sasuke as well.

"What the hell...?!" Sasuke looked up at his brother, who just smirked as he began to explain.

"Write a love letter," Neji said, his statement was simple and it got Sasuke and Naruto to smile evilly as they set to work.

* * *

"Gaara! Please, don't-" A blonde girl with four ponytails squeezed her eyes shut as a door slammed upstairs. "Slam the door." She turned to a boy with messy brown hair.

"Eh, it's his fourth move, don't worry! He'll get over it, Temari!" The brown-haired boy smiled warmly, if not confidently.

Temari sighed and walked into the kitchen to finish unpacking dishes. "Why do I not believe you?"

* * *

A red-haired boy threw himself onto his bed and shoved his face into his pillow. _I hate moving! I don't want to go to another new school. I'll be regected again, I'll end up being a bully and kicked out. Why do I even bother?! _

* * *

(Timeskip, next morning, 'cause I'm lazy like that!)

Sakura opened her locker and watched a note fall lazily to the floor. She bent down and picked it up. As she opened it, no heart or anything popped out, just a simple note was neatly written inside. _Have you ever known how beautiful you look? Like the moon shining in the midnight sky - so beautiful. I don't want to be cheesy or anything, but I wanted to let you know...You are perfect the way you are._

Sakura blinked a few times and noticed a little 'P.S' at the bottom telling her to meet said note writer under the oak in the back of the school that night.

She went into a squealing fit and hugged the note to her chest.

* * *

Hinata carefully popped open her locker door and peered inside, looking for her books. She was afraid her heart might have stopped when she was showered with glitter and a note that ironically landed in her hand.

_Well, a bit cheesey, but..._ She unfolded the note carefully, her eyes going wide when she read what was inside. _Though I admit you are timid, a bit nieve, you are still have a kind heart. Something I like in girls. You seem so perfect. No flaw is visable on you. And perfection is hard to find. I love perfection._

Hinata almost fainted. No one in her life was this kind or poetic. She liked this. Then she noticed a little 'P.S' at the bottom of the note saying to meet the note writer under the maple tree in front of the school.

She looked around, as if the writer would be visable by eye right there and then. But no avail. She sighed and gathered the books she needed and wandered to her first class.

* * *

(Another timeskip, that night)

Sasuke waited impatiently under the tree, waiting for the girl he had written his note to. He noticed her wandering toward him and almost smiled.

"Sasuke?!"

* * *

Naruto tipped back and forth on his heels and toes, looking up at the darkening sky. He watched the moon begin to shine as the sun sunk behind the mountains. He turned his head when he heard footsteps crunching up to him.

"Naruto..."

* * *

Ten-Ten walked into the room she and Hinata shared. She shuffled over to her bed and sat down, then noticed a shimmering note on her sister's bed. She stood up and ran over to it, opened it and read it.

"No way...Hinata!" Ten-Ten dropped the note, that fluttered to the floor, and raced to Sakura and Ino's room.

**_

* * *

_**

"C'mon Itachi. I have better things to do than wait for you in this dump you call a bar," Itachi folded his arms across his chest as he glared at his friend.

"Okay, okay! I'm coming!" Kisame stummbled over to Itachi, only half drunk. "Let's go."

"Finally," Itachi dragged his fish-looking friend toward his old school.

* * *

_**Wahoo! Yet another chapter! I hope it wasn't too confusing. It will be revealed in the next chapter. And, so many consperacies! I am so good at them!!!**_

_**Hey, I introduced Gaara, Temari, and Kunkuro! They won't be a major part in the story, but they will be semi-important. Ya know, just about as important as Kiba. So, not really important...Ah well, sorry Gaara fan...girls! Don't hurt me!!! But Itachi will be pretty important for awhile!!**_

_**To my wonderful, awesome reviewers of which I have got less of somehow...**_

**DysphoricxKun0ichix: **1) Thank you...I think. That you can't find a word for the plot, that was a compliment, right? 2) Yes, very evil thought. 3) They begin to realize their undefying love for eachother when they do. _spits tounge out _And, seriously, I think there might be some fluff in the next chapter.

**fantasycrazyperson409: **Ack!! Thanks for liking the story, but seriously, do you and the rest of my reviewers ban together to make my life really hard when you vote?! I am only half joking. I am now getting really curious about that...

**CherryBlossoms016: **I really like the idea of doing both! I came up with the most awesome way to do it too!! I'll see what I can do...

**XxSuicidal CupcakexX: **You sure you aren't pulling some prank on me to get the hair long? What is it with you and niwichan2468 obsessing over Hinata's hair long?!

Hey, I decided that your penname would make a great band name. "The Suicidal Cupcakes". Catchy, ne?

**niwichan2468: **Well, if what XxSuicidal CupcakexX said was true, then I will make her hair long, but if it's not, then probably not...I know. So mean I am!

**Long-Live-The-Jessenator: **Yay! You still like the story! What's a Jessenator?

**Mariegurl: **I think it would be awesome! I know exactly how I want to do it too...But I hope my other reviewers won't mind if I do that...

_**I think I have decided to combine both the massecre and the healing the wounds thing. Because two of my reviewers gave me that idea and once I elaborated on it more, I knew exactly what I wanted to happen. If you have a problem with it, please tell me so I won't mess up this story! Please review!!**_


	7. My Mistake

**Disclaimer: No. I don't own Naruto. Or I wouldn't be writing stories on _fan_fiction, now would I?**

Chapter 7: My Mistake

"I thought you'd never show up…Sakura," Naruto said softly. He walked over to her and brushed a strand of hair from her face.

Sakura stumbled back. "This isn't right…" She muttered.

"What?" Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"You aren't…" Sakura looked at Naruto, their eyes met for a second, then Sakura shook her head. "No…"

"I'm not my brother, right?" Naruto sighed and looked up at the deep blue sky. "Bet you wish I was." He looked back at the shocked girl in front of him. "That's not fair. I'm just as good as Sasuke, if not better!"

Sakura felt her jaw drop a little. "N-no…Not like that, I guess…I mean, you're just as good…in your own way. Don't--" Luckily, she was interrupted by a car squealing down the street.

* * *

"I'm glad you decided to come." Sasuke smiled wickedly at Hinata. 

Hinata paused, thinking it through. She looked down darkly. "I would have come no matter what."

Sasuke, who had been walking toward here, stopped. His smile vanished and he looked at her with frustrated curiosity. "Really? You really would have come?"

"Even if the world was ending." Hinata smiled weakly.

Sasuke resisted the urge to grip at his chest as he felt a pang of guilt wrap around his heart. "Wow," he breathed, at a sudden loss of what to say.

It was silence for a short moment, until they both heard a speeding car try to reach a screeching stop.

* * *

"I can't believe I missed this," Neji huffed. 

"I can," Shikamaru grinned at his brother. "It's just like you to think only about two of the girls and leave the other two out. And what happens after that?"

Neji was quiet for a minute, listening only to the throb of their feet on the street, as he tried to think of a response that wouldn't involve dissing himself. "Okay, so why didn't you think of this earlier?"

"I dunno. I wasn't paying attention…wasn't really thinking then, I guess." Shikamaru frowned and looked back at the street in front of him.

"Whatever. You _never_ stop thinking!" Neji accused, glaring at his brother. He turned his head forward again when headlights flooded the shadows. He and Shikamaru braked and tried to turn to the sidewalk, but ended up sliding and hitting the ground.

"What a drag…" Shikamaru muttered, blinded as the lights moved closer.

* * *

(a little while earlier) 

"Ino! Did you see what Hinata got?" Ten-Ten threw herself into Ino and Sakura's room.

"No. Did you see what Sakura got?" Ino was sitting on the floor in the middle of the room, a piece of paper in her hands.

"A love note?" Ten-Ten guessed. Ino nodded. Ten-Ten tossed the sparkling note she'd had in her hand toward her sister. "Hinata got one, too. Those idiots are up to something, and we have to stop it before Hinata and Sakura get hurt."

"Okay," Ino said, dropping the notes as she stood up and followed Ten-Ten outside. They stopped on the porch and Ino asked, "So who are you gunna stop? Front or back?"

"I'll go back and you front. Now c'mon! Let's go!" Ten-Ten took off, racing down the street.

"So not a good day to be wearing sandals," Ino groaned before she sprinted after her sister.

They were almost at the school, when they saw two familiar figures running down the street in front of them. "What are those creeps doing here?" Ten-Ten hissed. Then she gasped as she saw a car speeding toward Neji and Shikamaru. "No!" She cried hoarsely.

Ino and Ten-Ten ran faster down the street, watching in horror as Neji and Shikamaru fell and the car try to stop.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura raced to the front of the school; Sasuke and Hinata were looking through the wire fence – their bodies rigid. 

"Hinata!" Sakura cried and ran to her sister's side.

"Ten-Ten…Ino…Neji…Shikamaru…" Hinata whispered, never moving her eyes from the street. Sakura looked too, as Naruto stepped up to the fence, and watched in awe as the scene unfolded in front of them.

Ten-Ten and Ino were hurriedly helping Neji and Shikamaru up and trying to get to the side of the street when the car bumped Ino's hip – knocking her to the ground as it finally slowed enough that it looked like it could stop. It didn't though. Shikamaru helped Ino back up and got to the side of the street as the car stopped.

The passenger's door opened and a red haired man jumped out, walking at a quick pace to the other side of the car. He yanked the driver's door open and pulled a drunken blond man out. "Passenger's side. Now," the red-head commanded and the blond obeyed. They red-head man turned to Ino, Shikamaru, Neji and Ten-Ten and apologized. As he slid into the car, Neji heard him say under his breath, "Thanks, Deidara. Now Itachi's gunna _kill_ us." And they were gone.

Ino sank to the ground and moaned.

"Are you okay, Ino?" Ten-Ten knelt and put a hand on her sister's shoulder.

Shikamaru bit his lip, and then crouched down beside Ino. "Is your hip okay?" He asked.

"I think it'll just be bruised." Ino smiled unconvincingly.

Sasuke and Naruto climbed over the fence and jumped down. Sakura went over to the door in the fence and picked the lock. Swinging it open, she and Hinata ran out and the four of them ran over to their brothers and sisters.

* * *

"Okay, seriously! You go and shoot up all those kids again, and you know what? You'll end up in prison…AGAIN!" Kisame's words slurred and Itachi just shook his head. 

"You're too drunk to make sense. Therefore, what you just said, does not count," Itachi hissed.

"I'm not THAT drunk!" Kisame cried and swayed a little.

"Shut-up," Itachi mumbled.

"Whatever," Kisame sighed. Then he passed out. Itachi looked down at his partner and groaned. Tonight was going to be a living hell.

* * *

"So?" Sakura looked over at Shikamaru. 

"So…Looks like she was rights. What a wasted trip to the hospital," Shikamaru grumbled, but stole a worried glance at Ino.

"Better safe than sorry," Ten-Ten pointed out. "How are you two?"

"Just scratches. Thanks for your concern," Neji snapped coldly.

"Sure," Ten-Ten muttered sourly. Hinata looked between Neji and Ten-Ten, and then started giggling. They stared at her incredulously.

"What in the world is so funny?" Neji asked.

"Yeah." Ten-Ten put her hands on her hips.

"Noth-Nothing," Hinata stuttered, putting one hand over her mouth as she tried to catch her breath.

"That doesn't sound like nothing. Your sister's in the hospital and you're laughing?" Neji folded his arms across his chest.

"I'm awake and can hear you and would be laughing if it weren't for the pure fact it could hurt. So stop talking about me like I'm not here, jerk-ass," Ino said, crossing her arms stubbornly.

"Sorry," Neji mumbled.

"It's-It's nothing." Hinata dropped her hand and looked at Ten-Ten and Neji innocently.

"When can we go home? I'm tired of standing here," Naruto whined.

"That reminds me!" Sakura cried, just as Sasuke said, "Right now." He glared at her.

She ignored him and said, "Did you guys know that…" Sakura looked at Ten-Ten, remembering they weren't supposed to know, then said, "Know that Itachi's out of prison? Apparently, he escaped somehow."

"How'd you know about him?!" Sasuke snapped and Neji adverted his eyes.

"I did some research on your massacre…er…" Ten-Ten said, timidly raising one of her hands. "And when I was watching the news the other day, they did a report on Itachi. No one's sure how he escaped. But he wasn't in his cell. And neither was a friend he had. Kisame, I think."

"Friend?" Neji asked skeptically.

"He made a friend in jail or something. Sounds like he was just using him." Ten-Ten shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, he and his brothers staring at her.

"Well…Who makes friends in prison? And with someone like that, getting out of jail would be easy. Knock some heads together or something. Something without blood." Ten-Ten paused, tilting here head a little as seven pairs of eyes looked at her. "What?"

"Have you escaped prison lately?" Neji asked.

"No!" Ten-Ten cried. "I'm just saying, jeez."

Sasuke shook his head. "Why can't you just mind your own business?"

"Don't mention stuff. Or – better – don't mess with us!" Ten-Ten said, raising her voice a little. "Don't pretend to care and then walk off!" She saw everyone except Ino look at her with shocked expressions.

"How…?" Neji whispered.

"Love notes. Coming from the two heart-_breakers_ of the school? You should know better!" Ten-Ten turned her head away from him.

The silence was penetrating. And when it was broken, it was by the four boys shuffling toward the door.

"_We_ pretend to care?" Neji breathed as he walked past Ten-Ten.

"No more messing around. Fine," Sasuke said as he and his brothers left. Once they were gone, Hinata whispered, "Is that really what they were going to do?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure anyway," Ten-Ten said softly.

"I kinda guessed it was a set up. But…But I didn't think they'd go that far…" Hinata muttered in disbelief.

"What did you expect from a group like that?" Ten-Ten murmured.

* * *

"Later guys. Have fun," Ten-Ten whispered, waving as her sisters left for school. After they were out of sight, she turned around and sluggishly walked upstairs, gently shutting the door behind her. _For once in my life, I miss school. And it's not because of the learning experience. _She walked to here window and looked out. _Of course, I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss Neji already._

* * *

"Hi, Kiba," Hinata whispered, smiling shyly as Kiba walked up to meet her. 

"Hey," Kiba grinned. "You got a sec?"

"Sure…I-I mean yeah." Hinata ducked her head as she started blushing.

"Hey, I hate to bail on you, but something came up and it looks like we won't be able to go out after all," Kiba said, his voice so sincere, it sounded fake. "I'm really sorry." He smiled apologetically, but his eyes shone with relief.

Hinata blinked back tears, though she wasn't sure why she was so upset about this. Kiba was just a friend. "Oh," She said softly. "Okay, it's alright." She looked up at him and tried to make her smile as convincing as possible.

Kiba caught his breath as he looked down at Hinata's broken smile. He didn't' think that this would hurt here; they weren't supposed to get this close.

The bell rang and they both jumped, realizing that the silence they had thought was there was their own silence.

"I'm really sorry," Kiba said again. But this time, his guilt touched his eyes.

Hinata looked away, feeling broken. "It's okay!" She said softly. "I have to go to my locker." Her voice broke and she walked as fast as she could toward her locker.

Kiba stood there for a minute, chasing her with his eyes. He never should have agreed to what Naruto has said. Naruto was wrong. Hinata was not like the rest of the stuck of bitches they had met. She had a heart, and he had just broken it.

* * *

Neji lay in his bed, sighing for the millionth time that morning. He would have gone to town to find something to do…except, his mom grounded him for "hitting a girl." So, he was stuck in his house with nothing to do. 

Nothing but think.

Did Ten-Ten not realize what she had done? And did she realize what she had said?

"_Don't pretend to care and then walk off!" _She echoed in his head and Neji's heart ached.

It was true, for awhile, they did pretend to care. But then it all changed. For Neji, it felt like gravity had shifted and his heart was being pulled from him to Ten-Ten. He and his brothers had made their lives revolve around messing with girls, since they were little. Since Naruto's first girlfriend had snapped his heart. They had thought, after that, that all girls were like that. And now, he was sure, all of his brothers – and himself – were denying their feelings; fighting to yank themselves from these precious girls' traps.

But Neji knew he had let himself get pulled in too far. He had let himself hope and when Ten-Ten had helped him last night, he thought that he meant something to her too. She was pretending through it all though. However horrible he felt now, he knew why she wouldn't trust him. Their stupidity was clawing at what they wanted. All the pranks Neji and his brothers had done to Hinata, Sakura, Ino, and Ten-Ten now turned on them.

Neji kind of wished they hadn't done those thinks, and then they might've had a chance to win over the girls.

Kind of.

But since he couldn't undo what was done, he might as well work with what he and his brothers had created. Let their pain and anger take over.

Neji wasn't going to fall to his knees in front of four spoiled brats. Those girls were going to fall to their knees in front of him, Naruto, Shikamaru and Sasuke.

* * *

Ino and Sakura walked down the halls toward their classroom in silence. 

Sakura couldn't believe it. It had all been a game. Naruto had come last night, to throw her off. And Sasuke…Could she still hope that he liked her? Even though he had looked through her with eyes that seemed like they were shooting icicles at her..? Maybe she shouldn't. It was safer to say he had never cared about her and never would.

_Last night… _Ino thought. _He was worried about me. I know he cares… _She wasn't sure if her beliefs came from false hope or if it was true, but she believed. He had to care. Because she cared about Shikamaru. Because he had helped her last night. Because he had asked if she was alright when she was hurt.

But…Was Shikamaru faking it? Were all those thing he'd done last night just an attempt to improvise to his and his brothers' game? Did she mean nothing to him? Despite the way she felt toward him?

How would she know?

* * *

Sasuke felt weird. He couldn't explain the feeling; ignoring the reason he felt it. He denied every thought that floated into his head and pushed them away. He didn't want to be distracted. And that's just what Sakura was: a distraction. He knew better than to think they could be okay together. He wasn't whole. Not worthy. 

Sasuke knew that he, really, he wasn't the only broken one in his family. Itachi was the only one of his brothers who could say they were fine and truly mean it. Except, his brother was insane. Sasuke, Naruto, Neji and Shikamaru had their sanity, but weren't okay.

Sasuke remembered playing with Itachi when he was younger and could almost feel how close they had been…Sasuke had foolishly thought of his older brother as a friend. He fully regretted that now as part of his heart throbbed painfully. Neji used to sympathize with Sasuke when Itachi left. Then told their brothers that Itachi's crazy mistakes were going to scar Sasuke worse. He knew that Shikamaru and Naruto resented Sasuke some because of his former attachment with their older brother. And because of the non-wanted attention he got from everyone who knew.

He didn't want to be the one out of his three brothers who had the biggest gash in his chest. It made him less whole than his brothers. It made him far more different from his brothers. And it made him feel weak.

Shikamaru had warned him a few times that he probably would want someone to lean on – to fill the empty space that seemed to ooze blood from Sasuke's chest. But Sasuke rejected the thought. Believing he was better alone.

However, Shikamaru's warnings had seemed more than priceless when he started getting close to Sakura. He realized he needed her and wanted her.

But could he really let go of everything so he could hold her? Sasuke wasn't so sure he could. And now…he felt even less whole. When Ten-Ten had forced him to say an indirect good-bye to Sakura; he had hoped to throw her a pleading look, but something in Ten-Ten's eyes had pulled rage out of him and he shot Sakura an icy glare instead. Feeling horrible about it, even now.

She really was a distraction. With a new pain throbbing in his chest, Sasuke felt it hard to concentrate on anything. He hoped it would dull some; he couldn't afford to let Neji know. No one could know how he felt about the severed attachment to Sakura.

* * *

Shikamaru lazily stared out of the window at the bright blue sky. Watching the clouds drift, he slowly began to realize what his wandering thoughts had landed on. Ino. 

Why he felt the way he did about her, he couldn't understand. But he felt like they were connected. That any pain they received flowed into the other. Last night was painful. Ino's physical pain, when the car had hit her, momentarily caused Shikamaru emotional pain.

_Why didn't I stop it? Could I have moved her in time? Could I have prevented her pain? _Those were all questions he had asked himself in the short moment between her getting hit and him dragging her to the other side of the road.

He didn't deny the feeling he had for Ino, like he knew his brothers were doing for Ino's sisters. He couldn't. Without realizing it, he had threaded himself to Ino. And even the distance put between them now, he didn't feel far from her.

Shikamaru skimmed over the thought, _she might not feel the same way. _He couldn't stand to even _consider_that. It would pulse an ache through him that he didn't want. Didn't need.

The hair on the back of Shikamaru's neck stood on end as someone brushed past him. He probably wouldn't have noticed - after all, kids were shoving past him even now. But the touch was different; intentional, soft…and loving.

Shikamaru spun around and eyed passing kids. _Wistful thinking, _he decided. Then dropped his gaze as a piece of paper caught his eye. He caught his breath as he picked it up and read who it was addressed to:

_Shikamaru_

_**Hi. I finally updated. I tried to make this chapter longer for those of you who were kind enough to wait so you could finish reading the story. So consider this a treat. Is this enough fluffy angst between them all for you all? Obviously, Shikamaru and Ino share the same feelings, but will they do anything about it? Take a guess.**_

_**To my reviewers:**_

**Xxnarutofan101xX: **_actually, i could stand to get more mail... i like the reviews. they make me feel like im doing a decent job on my stories._

**Chibi Saku Chan:**_hi. u didnt give me much to say to u. and ill update as the ideas come!_

**CherryBlossoms016: **_yeah...-looks around nervously- thanks._

**Airashii Mochidzuki:** _yay compliment!_

_angsty fluff okay? hehehe..._

_(Itachi's pissed! OvO)_

**Mariegurl: **_pressure...the pressure...lol_

**Maki-Zushi:**_r u sure she has long hair?_

**Long-Live-The-Jessenator: **_oh the boys will fall...and i 4got what else u said...' erm...srry. thnx 4 all the compliments tho._

**sakura4594: **_yay! its nice!_

**NeonAlchemist: **_do u want to know what happens after this too?_

**Chimiri:**_-turns blue from being squished- okay, glad u like. updating as fast as the ideas pop up..._

**fantasycrazyperson409: **_oh. u rnt? ok. and um...hmmmm..._

**Seerena: **_ITACHI...well, im not quite sure what he'll do yet. hum..._

**katlou303:**_addicted, huh? my story's a drug now? weird..._

**Kinomi-chan: **_is this long enough? srry._

**DemonBrownie: **_u have no idea. -walks over to itachi, itachi punches me, he walks off-_

**xo M i M i: **_yay! (ive been saying that a lot...) u like it still?_

_**um...you know how I said it would be cool to combine the massecre and the lovey-dovey stuff? Well...I saw this documentary on the one school shooting and am kinda going against it now. I dunno. What do you guys think? I don't want to write it all that much because of the real life happening, but then again, this is a story. So yeah, now I don't know. Vote again?  
**_

_**And I put a little of Deidara and Sasori in. If you want a little more of the Akatsuki in (besides Itachi and Kisame) please vote now. Thanks. **_

_**Hope this chapter isn't a disappointment. Sorry again for the long wait. Please review.**_


	8. Are You Serious?

**Chapter 8: Are You Serious?**

_Previously:_

Shikamaru skimmed over the thought, _she might not feel the same way. _He couldn't stand to even _consider_ that. It would pulse an ache through him that he didn't want. Didn't need.

The hair on the back of Shikamaru's neck stood on end as someone brushed past him. He probably wouldn't have noticed - after all, kids were shoving past him even now. But the touch was different; intentional, soft…and loving.

Shikamaru spun around and eyed passing kids. _Wistful thinking, _he decided. Then dropped his gaze as a piece of paper caught his eye. He caught his breath as he picked it up and read who it was addressed to:

_Shikamaru_

* * *

_What?!_Shikamaru stared at the paper in shock. His name. _What the hell?! _With shaky hands, Shikamaru unfolded the note and stared at it uncomprehendingly. Over and over he read it, still not quite understanding why he got it. His thoughts and feelings…All of it…Right here; from someone else.

_**I can't stand this! Our brothers and sisters are being retarded! Please tell me you don't feel like them! This whole thing…Tell me you're through with it! Please…? **_

_**If you feel like it do, meet me outside in the back of the school after your last class. Please…**_

_**-Ino**_

_Meet her after school…How exactly does she feel though? Does she feel like I do? Maybe I won't have to ignore all my thoughts and feelings like my brothers are…_

* * *

Naruto sat in class, idly doodling in his notebook. He felt horrible. Everyday, he'd walk past Hinata and see her with Kiba. Only recently did that change, but now Hinata looked depressed. _I wonder how things would have turned out if I hadn't given that note to Kiba to give to Hinata…_ Naruto looked up at the blackboard and sighed. Probably less different. Naruto still wouldn't be able to tell Hinata how he felt because his brothers were completely against it. Honestly, Naruto had never felt this way about anyone before. The girl who dumped him in his earlier years…Well, Naruto had never truly liked her. It still hurt when she broke up with him, yes. But he was fine now. His brothers didn't believe him and were still convinced that all girls were like that bitch. Naruto was starting to think differently, he thought that maybe there were a few girls in the world who were worth while. And Hinata was one of them.

Could he fix it now though? Really, he could see how upset his brothers were, but he could also see how hurt they were. Neji was probably out to seek revenge on Ten-Ten. The other two? Who knew what they were thinking. If Kiba had broken apart from Hinata, then maybe Naruto had a chance to patch things up between them. That is, if Hinata was ready and willing to forgive him…

* * *

Gaara stared at the kids in the halls. Worthless and pitiful and in his way. He didn't want to be here; he didn't want to have to talk to anyone; and he really didn't want anyone talking to him. He was just here because Temari and Kankuro were being asses and making him attend this retarded school. They kept saying, "Maybe if you're lucky – and nice! – you'll make _new_friends." Who said he wanted friends? He could stand acquaintances, but friends? The people who followed you like puppies? The people who tried to make you laugh? The people who talked to you nonstop about crap you don't even care about? _I'll pass thanks. _

Besides, who could share the same thoughts and feelings as him on life? Who could even come close? No one. Not even his family could relate.

Gaara sighed and wandered around the school until he found his first class.

* * *

"RETARD!" A redheaded man yelled, resisting the urge to throw his arms up in agitation.

"I'm sorry, Master Sasori! I didn't mean to, yeah! Itachi won't be that mad…will he?" A blond man cowered under the wrath of his angry partner.

Sasori paused and glared at the blond below him. For once he felt tall and strong. It was a nice feeling. "Of course Itachi will be that mad. Deidara, you almost hit his brothers!" Deidara's face went blank. He winced at the thought of how angry Itachi would be if he found out what happened the night before. "I can't believe I let you drive, even for that short distance!" Sasori continued, yelling again. "When Itachi finds out…"

"You mean _if,_" Deidara corrected quietly. Sasori glared daggers at the blond. "He doesn't have spies all over the city, yeah. I doubt if he has anyone working for him besides Kisame – but he's there for other reasons, yeah. Anyway, no one will report what they saw to him. We won't get caught, yeah!"

Sasori calmed down a little. For once, Deidara didn't sound all that stupid. He sounded like he knew what he was talking about, and that was a new one. The redhead sat down on the floor and stared at the wall. "Okay, so all we have to do is keep your big mouth shut."

Deidara flinched at his master's insult, but hastily agreed as to not piss off Sasori again_. Just gotta think about other things and not what happened the night before…Easy, right?_

* * *

Shikamaru walked out to the back of the school after his last class – and after he escaped Naruto and Sasuke. He looked around cautiously. When he didn't see anyone, he sighed and sat down under a tree and stared at the passing clouds. He felt kind of depressed now; Ino wasn't here. It was just a prank to mess with him after all that he'd done to her. He assumed he deserved it. But to strike at the heart? Cruel.

"Hey. Sorry I'm late. Sakura and Hinata wouldn't stop bugging me." A shadow stretched across Shikamaru and blocking his view of the clouds. His heart skipped a few beats as he looked up at the person above him.

* * *

_**Not as long as the last chapter and I apologize for that. That piece on Sasori and Deidara was half-requested by one of my reviewers, so I randomly put it in. Who knows? Maybe later, they'll be more important. And to clear up why Deidara was calling Sasori "Master", in Japanese he calls him "Sasori no **__**Danna**__**" and translated, that means "Master Sasori". So I go with the translated, English version. Sorry to those of you who like the Japanese version. **_

_**Anyway, to my reviewers:**_

**Pinkberry Soda: **_thanks for loving my story. :D _

_Um…I kind of put a little bit of SasoDei in here. But there shouldn't be much._

_I have another high school story up now, and it revolves more around SasoDei. It's called "Rendered Weak." If you'd rather read that. I'm going to post another SasoDei called "Dear Diary" soon, if you want to check that out too._

_Thanks for your support!_

**fantasycrazyperson409: **_I might put some Tobi in later chapters. But I dunno how he'll be incorporated. _

_If you want more Tobi and a little Pain, check out my other high school story: "Rendered Weak." It's more SasoDei, but it will have more Tobi and Pain than this story will. Or, I'm going to post "Dear Diary" soon. And it has some of everyone in it (even though it's SasoDei). (Yay for promoting my other stories! Lol) _

_Thanks for not giving up on me quite yet._

**NarutoFFF: **_thanks! So glad I'm still getting support._

**kawaiibaka10: **_Don't get overly excited! Lol. Thanks for supporting me! (Haven't I said that at least 4 times now?)_

**crazybunnyperson: **_I update when I can think of things. So, sometimes fast and sometimes not. Sorry._

**NeonAlchemist: **_Um…what can I say to that? You should already know if you read this chapter. Hmmm…_

_**Well, I lost several reviewers due to my really long no updating vacation thing. But I gained a few too! So, yay me! **_

_**I did get some Gaara and Naruto thoughts in since I forgot them in the last chapter. Sorry they aren't longer. But, hey, they're there. If you want someone in this story that I haven't already put in, please tell me. I won't, however, take Jaryia or Orochimaru because I hate them both and the less I have to write about them the better. Sorry.**_

_**I've decided that this chapter's so short because this is a filler type thing for the story. It's just pretty much explaining stuff before the stuff happens in the next chapter. -Head spins- So yeah, more stuff should happen in the next chapter.**_

_**Anyway. What do I have left to say, but please review?**_


	9. Alert: Don't tell!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...Or 'Romeo and Juliet' (even if all I did was just mention it).**

* * *

** Chapter 9: Alert: Don't tell!!**

"Ino? Why are you blocking my view of the clouds?" Shikamaru asked lazily, staring up at the blond girl above him.

"To catch your attention. Why do you care about the clouds? Don't you_ want_ to see me?" Ino answered playfully. She backed up as Shikamaru stood up.

"Well, of course I do. Otherwise I wouldn't have come, would I?" Shikamaru grumbled, crossing his arms and looking at Ino with a bored expression. "Now, why'd you send me that note?"

Ino started blushing and looked down with a shy smile on her face. "Well…I hoped that…That you were done with all that prank stuff…And maybe…Maybe you had…other feelings?"

Shikamaru's heart jumpstarted. _She…She does feel like that! _Shikamaru smiled slyly and said, "That depends; what 'other feelings' are you talking about?"

Ino looked up at the boy in front of her with a shocked expression and stuttered, "Um…I…well…I…I like you, Shikamaru…"

A grin broke out on Shikamaru's face as he said, "Well, that's a relief. I was afraid you wouldn't feel like I do." They stood in blissful silence for a minute before Shikamaru said, "So I guess I should do something about my brothers, huh?"

"What do you mean?" Ino asked, tilting her head a little in confusion and curiosity

Shikamaru sighed. "Well, I'm not going to let them continue to torture your sisters. That would be just cruel. You want me to do something about them, right?"

Ino smiled brightly and whispered, "You'd really try?!"

"Only if you go out with me sometime." Shikamaru's cleverly placed statement caught Ino off guard.

"Well, duh!" Ino cried happily, grinning with Shikamaru. "What are you going to do?"

Shikamaru paused, thinking that through. "Not sure yet. But I'm smart. I'll think of something by tomorrow."

"Alright." Ino sighed and looked at the street with a wistful expression. Shikamaru looked at her, tipping his head to one side, wondering silently what she was thinking. Ino turned back and said softly, "I should go. Sakura, Ten-Ten and Hinata will be wondering what I'm doing. I didn't come up with anything creative when I told them I'd see them later." She grinned sheepishly.

"Oh. Yeah. That reminds me…I wasn't very creative either. My brothers will start freaking soon," Shikamaru said, almost sadly. "A secret couple within two rival groups…Like Romeo and Juliet only better. Let's not tell our siblings. They may get mad. Especially my brothers. We aren't supposed to date really."

Ino opened her mouth, wondering what he was talking about. But then closed it and nodded. She smiled and jumped over to Shikamaru, wrapping her arms around his neck. He returned the embrace willingly by snaking his arms around her waist.

They broke slowly and practically sadly. As Ino skipped off, she cried over her shoulder, "Bye, Shika! I'll see you tomorrow!!"

Shikamaru waved timidly and nodded weakly. "Yep. I will."

* * *

"What the hell were you doing?!" Neji cried when Shikamaru got home. "It took you forever to get here!"

Shikamaru stared at his brother emotionlessly. "Extra credit," He answered simply, not thinking properly.

Sasuke and Naruto stared at him incredulously. "_You're _doing extra credit?!" They chorused.

Shikamaru stared at his brothers blankly before sighing and dropping his head. "Yeah. Sad thing is, I'm letting my grades slip. The work is just so boring; I don't see why I should have to do it."

Neji paused, his face wearing a shocked expression. "You…your grades mean everything to you…and you…you love homework…What's going on?!"

Shikamaru shrugged lazily and said, "I'm bored. Screw the work when I know it all already."

His brothers gaped at him and tried to form words, instead coming out with a, "Hum…nahuh?"

"Well, if you're done interrogating me, I think I'll go up to my room now," Shikamaru said, starting to loose his calm, caring façade. He turned and ran up the stairs to his room.

"What the hell!" Naruto shouted when he remembered he had a brain.

Neji sank to the floor in shock. "Since when does Shikamaru not care about his _grades_?" He asked himself quietly.

"That's so out of character for him," Sasuke confirmed. "But I think it has less to do with boredom and more to do with something more interesting." Sasuke stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a note addressed to their genius brother. "He left it in his locker, the dumb-ass."

Neji stood up and walked over to his brother, snatching the note from his hand. "A girl?" He asked after reading the paper. "He's…The jerk!"

* * *

"Ino!!!" Sakura tackled her sister as soon as she was through the door.

"AH! What'd I do?!" Ino cried, being pinned down.

"We were waiting for, like, ever! What happened?!" Sakura demanded.

Ino was quiet before grinning. "Oh. Simple. I got in trouble; the teacher wanted me to stay after class so he could talk to me."

Sakura gave her a blank look before crawling off her sister. "_You _got in trouble? For what? Was it your clothes? The dumb-asses."

"No. I was writing notes to someone in my class. His name was Lee. The teacher caught me and got mad at me. Sorry," Sakura explained quickly.

Ten-Ten and Hinata walked out at that point. "Hey, you're back. What took you so long?" Ten-Ten asked.

"Got in trouble for passing notes. Teacher wanted me to stay after so he could rip me a new one," Ino explained again quickly. "I'm going upstairs now. Bye-bye!"

Ino stood up, brushed herself off and flew upstairs. Hinata, Ten-Ten and Sakura sat there, dumbfounded.

"I'm confused," Hinata said quietly.

* * *

The next day at school, the boys – with the exception of Shikamaru and Neji – both stormed through the halls, looking for the girls. Kids pressed themselves up against lockers and back stepped to get out of the way of their wrath. Sasuke found Sakura at her locker and slammed the locker door shut.

"Cut that out! You almost smashed my hands!" Sakura screamed, facing the black-haired boy.

"Shuddup and listen for a minute," Sasuke snapped. Sakura shut her mouth, hoping desperately that she wouldn't get hurt. "Alright, Shikamaru and Ino met last night. Shikamaru said that his _grades_ were slipping. He doesn't do that. Anyway, well, we came to the quick conclusion, that they are _dating._"

Sakura gaped. "Ino wouldn't do that to us! If this is one of your sick pranks…!!!"

Sasuke shook his head. "No. Why would I joke about my brother doing something like this? I would _never_. Now. Neji says that we have to change their minds about what they're doing. Will you help us?"

Sakura was quiet for a minute. "Give me one reason why I should? If Ino really likes your brother, than I'm in no position to mess with that."

Sasuke sighed. "You're going to be difficult, aren't you? Fine. I'll give you a good reason. Because if you don't, I'll dye your hair blue when you shower after gym."

Sakura stared blankly at him before glaring at him. "You suck. Did you know that? I hate you, I really do. Fine, but only because I don't want you sneaking into the girl's locker room while I'm showering."

Sasuke made a face and then put his hand out. "We'll be out front by the flagpole after school."

Sakura took his hand and said, "Okay, and we'll be there. Well, Hinata and I will be anyway."

The raven-haired boy smirked and muttered, "Oh right, we got her expelled, didn't we?"

Jade eyes widened and Sakura cried, "It was you?! Oh my god!"

Sasuke realized his mistake and stuttered, "No, I was kidding. I…"

"Humph. I'll still be there, but I'm not forgiving you for what you did to my sister! She's probably dying of boredom right now!" Sakura turned her head in disgust.

Sasuke stared at her, dumbfounded. "Okay…Well, I don't really give a shit. Thanks. See you there." And with that, Sasuke regained his composure and walked away.

Sakura opened her locker for the express purpose of closing it in anger. She started walking the opposite way, then realized that she needed some stuff from her locker, went back and opened it.

* * *

Naruto found Hinata second. He bit his lip when he saw her and contemplated ways to tell Sasuke that he couldn't find her. He just didn't want to be cruel to her anymore. But he guessed that if he didn't go, Sasuke would eventually. So he slowly walked up to Hinata and tapped her shoulder.

Hinata spun around with a gasp and then put her hand to her chest when she saw Naruto. "Hi, Naruto," She whispered.

Naruto realized something that he hadn't caught before. Hinata's hair was down. He'd thought it was a haircut, not a hairstyle. _Dammit. She looks prettier than before._ Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I wanted to tell you what Neji told me to tell you. He said that Sasuke and I are supposed to meet you and Sakura out front after school. Okay?"

Hinata stared at him blankly for a minute before suddenly looking like she was angry. "Why should I, Naruto?"

Naruto sighed. She just had to make this harder than it should be, didn't she? "Look, I don't want to hurt you. That should be a good enough reason, no? So don't flake on us, okay?"

Hinata paled slightly and nodded weakly. "O…Okay, I…I won't."

Naruto gave the shocked girl an apologetic look and walked away.

* * *

Itachi sat in a tree, facing a house that didn't belong to him. The two people inside looked like they were arguing. One had red-hair, and the other blond. _The poor lovers, _Itachi thought with false pity. He was ready to rid the world of these two. After all, they almost hit his beloved brothers; wrecking what he was told to do. Leader would be very upset if Itachi didn't finish what he started; upset if Sasori and Deidara suddenly went missing…Showed up days later – dead. But it wouldn't lead back to him, he'd be very careful about it all. They may not show up anyway.

* * *

_**I never was really into 'Romeo and Juliet', never had the patience…or the capacity to understand it. But what I get was that they were secretly dating until someone – Romeo's cousin, right? – found out and then they were a forbidden couple thing. Am I right? Well, I didn't really think about how close Shikamaru and Ino's situation was to 'Romeo and Juliet' until now. Hope I'm right on that secret couple thing.**_

_**Another thing, I decided against writing about Itachi and the school and the shooting. To risky. Anyway, but I will still do something with Itachi and Kisame. I mean, I set it up perfectly. I have some ideas. **_

_**The discussion between Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Hinata will be done in the next chapter. I don't know if I rushed on the relationship between Shikamaru and Ino, but if I tried to fix it, the chapter wouldn't turn out right. The others' relationships won't come as fast though. **_

_**Now, to my reviewers:**_

**velcroSUNSHINE:**Really? It really is good? Thanks!

**Apple Bubblegum: **Yeah, sort of NaruHina. But more ShikaIno! Thanks for reading my other stories too. That's much appreciated.

**NarutoFFF:**Spill something? Huh? Oh well. Hope you liked Shikamaru and Ino's conversation. It's so hard to keep all of them semi-in character! –Whines-

**Maki-Zushi:**…Thanks. I hope I can make this even better. :)

**NeonAlchemist:**Thanks! Did I do okay on their conversation? Not too rushed, right?

**LuckyRika:**In order: Oh, I'm so sorry! I don't think I did any better on this one, did I?

Still suspenseful? –Smiles hopefully-

Thanks! I think so, even if they are the normal couples. Ha-ha.

**Fantasycrazyperson:**Fanfiction kept messing up the italics parts and I was just too lazy to go back, delete and fix them. I do that way to often now. What else did I mess up on? I think my spell check's working! –taps on computer screen above the spell check button- Oh well. Did I do better on this chapter? I even put in a double space when there's italics! -does happy dance-

_**Hope I remembered to explain everything. Please review!! **_


	10. Face Up, Punch and Run

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...**

**10: Face Up, Punch and Run**

Hinata and Sakura beat Sasuke and Naruto to the flagpole. Sakura leaned against the pole and started to mutter curses to calm her nerves.

"You're early," Naruto announced, sneaking up behind Sakura.

Both girls jumped and then the pink-haired girl spun and punched the blonde's arm. "Not funny, Naruto," she growled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Anyway, you better have good reasons as to why we're about to hurt our sister or I'm gunna break both your noses."

"I thought we've already gone over this," Sasuke said, smirking.

"_Better _reasons," Sakura hissed, grinding her teeth unconsciously.

Naruto shrugged. "Because, that's why."

Hinata looked at him and murmured, "What are you? Five?"

Sakura started at her with an impressed expression. "Nice." Hinata smiled sheepishly. "Okay, besides noting that 'because' isn't a substantial answer, what are we here for again?" The green-eyed of the four flipped her hair and hugged her torso with her free arm.

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged mischievous looks and then turned back to the girls.

"Are you _seeing _that?!" Ino whispered incredulously, crouching down behind the brick wall.

"No," Shikamaru said sarcastically. "Yes, I am. What are they doing?"

"I'd love to tell you, but your guess is as good as mine," she told him, peeking around the side of the school.

Shikamaru sighed. "My guess is that they're talking about…us. Since I know I didn't do a fantastic job at hiding our being together, I don't think that any of them are happy about it."

Ino gasped and shot an accusing glare to her sisters' backs.

Itachi pulled out a handgun from his jacket and aimed it at the window where he could see Deidara and Sasori. He smiled as aimed the gun between the two. He pulled the trigger and a bullet ripped through the window and hit the wall beyond. The glass shattered and Deidara screamed.

The two lovers looked out and Itachi aimed his gun at Sasori.

Ten-Ten jumped when she heard a gunshot. She ran to her window and looked around. When she didn't see anyone near her house, she went to her closet and pulled on her tennis shoes. She hurried down the stairs and out the door; she sprinted down the street, glancing at either side of the street. She stopped when she saw a house with a shattered window and a man in a tree. Ten-Ten stood there for a minute, staring at the man; once she realized he had a gun and was aiming it at one of the two men inside the house, she started thinking of a plan. She wasn't sure why she was risking her life for some strangers instead of calling the police – after all, the only gun she'd ever dealt with was a water gun – but she was high on adrenaline and had a plan.

Ten-Ten took off her shoes and crept over to the tree. She was so glad she'd practiced climbing trees while Sakura and Ino had been cheerleading. She heaved herself up onto the first branch and started scampering up the tree as fast as she could. Once she was level with the man on the other side of the tree, she hugged the tree and inched her way to his branch, keeping extremely quiet.

He finally noticed her when she was standing next to him. They stared at each other for a minute and then he swung his arm, pushing the gun to her chest. She blinked, glanced down at the gun and then went blank – she completely forgot how she was going to get rid of this guy. So she lifted both her hands to his chest and pushed Itachi out of the tree.

Sakura and Hinata stared, open-mouthed, at the two boys in front of them. "You two are out of you stupid minds," Sakura breathed, amazement evident in her voice. "But…if it's done right, it's harmless." Hinata nodded helplessly. "So…We'll help."

The two boys exchanged a high-five. "Yes!"

"But not for you," Hinata reminded them. "It's because we don't want our sister to date one of you slobs."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear the insult and say, 'Fair enough,'" Sasuke replied calmly.

"Then we're going home. See ya," Sakura said, turning on her heel and walking away.

"Are we sure about this?" Hinata asked softly on their way home.

"No. That's why this plan will never be put into action," Sakura replied casually.

"They aren't helping us," Sasuke told Naruto. "They think that it's better they don't interfere in their sister's love life. Well, I think that it doesn't really matter. We don't really care about how badly we mess with Shikamaru's love life, right?"

"Right. Now can we go home? My feet hurt," Naruto whined.

"Always have an excuse to get away from school. You're such a baby," Sasuke said, walking away.

"I am not! My feet really do hurt!" Naruto cried, following his brother.

"Whatever, Naruto," Sasuke called over his shoulder.

Shikamaru and Ino walked home in silence. They had left earlier than their brothers and sisters, eager to get away from them.

Ino got to her door and opened it when Shikamaru caught her shoulder. "If they try anything, we'll just get them back, okay?"

She smiled and said, "Okay." She went in and called for her sister. When there was no reply, she started to panic. Ten-Ten never left the house when she knew she was in trouble. She ran back outside and caught Shikamaru, telling him about her worries.

"I bet she's alright. But if you're so panicked, let's go look for her," he told her.

Ino nodded, fighting back her scared tears. They ran down the street, looking around.

Itachi hit the ground, staring up at Ten-Ten. She felt horrified. What if she had killed him? She'd never killed anyone. The two men from in the house ran outside.

"Are you okay, yeah?" the blonde called up to her. Ten-Ten looked down at them and realized that she'd seen them before. They were the two who almost hit Shikamaru and Neji. And one of them was her brother.

She sat down on the branch before sliding down to the next and then the next until she was within jumping range, and then she jumped. She stared at the two men and nodded. "Fine." The redhead looked as uncomfortable as she felt. The blonde went inside and a few minutes later, he came out with a phone to his ear. Ten-Ten glanced at the unmoving Itachi; she was pretty sure he was unconscious since his eyes were closed now.

"Are you sure you're okay?" the redhead asked, concern evident on his face as Ten-Ten looked back at him.

"I'm fine!" Ten-Ten snapped. "Anyway, why was he here?"

"You saw; he was trying to kill us," the red-haired man said.

"I know that, Sasori. But _why_?" Ten-Ten asked impatiently.

"God, you're _still_ really pushy. I don't know. Probably because Blabber-mouth over there spilled that we almost hit Itachi's little brothers and he was really pissed off about it," Sasori replied, getting angry.

"I didn't say anything about anything, yeah!" the blonde called and then returned to his phone call.

"Who is he, anyway? You're _current _boyfriend?" Ten-Ten inquired mockingly.

"Deidara and I have been together for two years," Sasori responded, folding his arms across his chest. "What's you're problem? You didn't _have_ to save us."

"I didn't know who you were! If I had, I would have let him shoot you!" Ten-Ten screamed, feeling like she was near tears. "And you're not even going to thank me for being so stupid?"

"Thank-you for being a moron," Sasori said with a mocking smile. At that moment, the cops showed up; Deidara hung up the phone and walked over. "Who's this, yeah?" he asked.

"One of my little sisters," Sasori told him without looking away from Ten-Ten. "And she's still a bitch."

"You're still a jack-ass," Ten-Ten spat as Shikamaru and Ino suddenly ran up to them.

"Oh my god, Ten-Ten! What happened? Are you okay?" Ino cried frantically.

"I'm fine. I just pushed Itachi out of the tree." Ten-Ten looked past her sister and Shikamaru and watched the police handcuff Itachi.

"I wonder where Kisame is, yeah," Deidara whispered to Sasori.

Shikamaru stared at Ten-Ten looking horrified. "You pushed Itachi out of a tree and got him arrested?!"

"The arrested part was his fault," Ten-Ten said, pointing her thumb at Deidara who cried, "_Hey_!"

Sakura, Hinata, Sasuke, and Naruto arrived just as Itachi was getting shoved into the cop car. "Tell me that wasn't Itachi," Sasuke whined, walking up to the group.

"It wasn't Itachi?" Ten-Ten tried.

"What was he doing here?" Sasuke cried, his arms shaking.

"Trying to kill us," Sasori interjected, giving Ten-Ten a quick glare. She felt like crying. There was a stunned silence from the ones who hadn't been there to experience it.

"I'm off my adrenaline high," Ten-Ten announced. "And I have no idea what I was thinking."

"I don't think it had anything to do with your adrenaline," Sasori told her.

"Shut-up, you two! Please," Hinata said, her voice quieting as everyone stared at her in surprise. "Nothing really has changed, has it? Sasori's still a jerk and Ten-Ten's still mad at him. We get it. Now please be quiet for a few minutes."

A police officer came over and started talking to everyone. The only people who really knew anything were Sasori, Deidara and Ten-Ten. Itachi was in the same gang that Sasori and Deidara were planning on leaving. The officer wanted to take away Sasori and Deidara but somehow, Ten-Ten convinced him not to. Ten-Ten wasn't sure what was going on with her that day, but she had a feeling she'd regret it the next day.

When the rest of the police left, Sasori and Deidara turned to Ten-Ten. "Why'd you do that?" Sasori asked, confusion and gratitude mixed on his face.

"I don't know," Ten-Ten told him honestly. She turned around when she heard someone walking up. She guessed that one of the boys behind her had called Neji – she figured it was probably Sasuke – and told him to come over.

"What did you do?" he hissed, glaring at Ten-Ten.

"Saved a life or two?" She was getting tired of this already. "What did you want me to do? Watch him kill these two guys?"

Mixed emotions crossed Neji's face as he took that in. He resorted to anger. He reached out and grabbed the collar of Ten-Ten's shirt. "I thought I told you to stay out of our business." His brothers were panicking and her sisters were screaming at Neji; Sasori and Deidara looked indecisive.

She glared at him for a minute and then said, "This isn't your business. It's mine. If I do something reckless, it's my choice. If I kill your brother, that's entirely up to me."

Neji let go of her and growled, "You wouldn't."

Ten-Ten stood up, on the verge of tears. "You don't want your brother in jail! You're up against all your brothers! They look up to you, I see it, and all you want to do is get your brother out of jail!" She paused, breathing hard, tears streaming down her face. "You care about him even though you know what he's doing is wrong."

Her sisters all looked away, pain evident on their faces. Neji looked as though he was going to either hit her or run away. "How would you know?"

She stared at him as she said, "Because my brother's in the same gang as your brother and he's been in jail seven times. He's killed so many innocent people, I lost count. But I still care about him!"

"You're lying," Neji stuttered, sounding like he was trying to defend himself even though he didn't know how.

"Why don't you ask him?" Sasori asked, stepping forward. "I _have_ been in jail seven times and I _have_ killed a lot of people. And I'm sorry Ten-Ten's mad at me still."

Ten-Ten looked down and sighed. "It's just a grudge."

"_Just_?" Deidara asked sarcastically behind Sasori. "Damn, Sasori. What did you do to her, yeah?"

"He didn't do anything. I was just mad at him because I didn't like what he was doing," Ten-Ten told him as Sasori opened his mouth to respond. "And I'm sorry too."

"It took them three years, but they finally got over it!" Sakura cried behind them. "I'm shocked. I didn't think they'd ever speak to each other again. I guess I was wrong. What's next a hug?"

"Don't push it," Sasori and Ten-Ten said at the same time and Sakura covered her mouth with her hand in an attempt to hide a laugh.

"My head hurts!" Naruto said, throwing back his head.

Hinata brushed past him as she and her sisters walked off. "Don't worry, I'll tell you tomorrow. Bye, Sasori!"

Sasori waved and then looked at the boys on his front lawn. "Are you here to fix my window?" he asked and all the boys ran off. "Alas, looks like we're going to have to call someone about that. But for tonight, what do you suggest?"

"A sheet, yeah?" Deidara offered, shrugging as they walked into their house. "Or we could board up the window. Or, I know, we'll use that one tablecloth that Konan gave us last year for Christmas, yeah!"

"I like that one…" Sasori said as he shut the door behind them.

_**A/N: I decided that Sasori being their brother would make for a great surprise. That and I was on a major writers block and I didn't know what to write in this chapter. That's why it might suck. **_

_**To my reviewers (I got some new ones…I hope they haven't abandoned me…):**_

_From: velcroSUNSHINE_

_yes it is :  
Please update soon!_

_To: velcroSUNSHINE_

_Er…Kay…:) _

_From: LuckyRika_

_Lol, i wuz just kidding last time :P  
besides, if longer chappie's take u longer 2 write u can't update sooner and  
that not kool(XD)  
keep up da fantabulistic work-- hehe, itd be so funny if sasuke dyed sakura's  
hair blue(her reaction XP)  
sorry 4 ranting(again), just luv that idea... so kawaii .  
update soon!  
or else... no dessert _

_To: LuckyRika_

_No dessert? –sniff- sad…Anywho…Hehe…Did I do good with this chapter? Did I? Did I?_

_From: Sora no Aoi_

_Graet fanfiction...guys luvs pranks..girls go mad...INTERESTING!  
YOU SHOULD UPDATE SOON!_

_To: Sora no Aoi_

_AH! I tried! I tried! Look at my profile! Look at my profile! No more yelling at Darkmoonphase!! –hides in corner and assumes alarmed expression- I don't do so well under pressure…_

_From: Maki-Zushi  
I wonder why they didn't tell Tenten? Good chapter._

_To: Maki-Zushi_

_Hehe…Me is secretive. Oh, btw. I know I didn't tell what they were planning, but I'll say later. Somehow…_

_From: NeonAlchemist_

_great chapter! i can't wait to read what Sasuke, Sakura and the others have  
planned._

_To: NeonAlchemist_

_Whoops. Well. Keep in mind that just because I didn't say what they planned this time, doesn't mean I won't later. Keep an eye out for references in later chapters. I'll explain what they planned later._

_From: SasuSaku best fan ever_

_I_

_To: SasuSaku best fan ever_

_You…Never mind. At least you put the effort into hitting the review button…And I thank you for that._

_From: sakura's twin954_

_luv dis story update soon!_

_To: sakura's twin954_

_Your penname scares me a bit…_

_From: __Apple__ Bubblegum_

_OOH! (i don't remember if i reviewed this chapter? HAH)  
POOR __HINATA__! somehow, i can't really picture Naruto being mean, and i always  
feel really sorry for Hinata... i'm turning into a bigtime NaruHina fluff  
fan(:  
neways, update soon pwz!_

_To: Apple Bubblegum_

_I'm so proud. Your penname is the only one next to Shashay202's who doesn't have the red "misspelled" line under it. I like you for that._

_You wouldn't have been able to review if you already had – it wouldn't have let you._

_I can picture Naruto being mean. It just looks a little OOC…And I know. I'm always picking on Hinata. Don't worry though. She gets her revenge and stands up for herself. You won't feel sorry for her for long!_

_What's wrong with NaruHina? I mean, it's not as good as SasoDei, but still…_

_From: ShayShay202_

_O! please keep going! i really like your story!_

_To: ShayShay202_

_I am ever grateful that your name doesn't have a red "misspelled" line under it. You have no idea how much I appreciate that. I like you now, just for that._

_I'm working on it, I'm working on it. But thanks. Glad you like it._

_**Like how I'm replying now? I do…It makes my life easier…Please review.  
**_


	11. Bittersweet Revenge

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, dammit!**

**--  
**

**11: Bittersweet Revenge**

_What's going on?_

_-Shikamaru_

_What are you talking about? What's going on with what?_

_-Ino_

_You know what. With what Ten-Ten said and how does your brother fit into all this? I didn't even know you __had __a brother!_

_-Shikamaru_

_We don't like talking about him, alright? He's like the disgrace of our family and have you ever heard of "You don't tell what goes on in the family?" Well, we keep things like our brother incognito. And what does it matter to you?_

_-Ino_

_You sound so pleasant right now. (Being sarcastic.) And, I don't think I've ever heard of that. But, whatever. That makes my next question pointless, so I won't even bother asking. And why does it matter to me? It matters because I __thought__ we were going out. Was I wrong? Besides that, I'd like to know because…Well, because it sounds interesting. I don't know why I want to know, okay? I just do. But if you don't want to talk about it, then whatever. I'll figure it out the same way you and your sisters did – Internet. _

_-Shikamaru_

Ino read through the note, glared at Shikamaru and shoved it into her backpack. Shikamaru sighed and dropped his head onto his desk in frustration. He just wanted to know what was going on. But obviously he wouldn't get it the same way he was trying to now. He didn't get it; he thought that he and Ino were dating. As soon as the bell rang, he gathered his stuff and angrily left the classroom.

Naruto caught him by the arm on his way down the hall. "What's up?"

"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru snapped, trying to break free of Naruto's grip.

"You look really upset and now you're yelling at me. What's up?" Naruto demanded, tightening his grip a little.

Shikamaru glared at him. "Ino's being weird. And really secretive. She won't tell me anything about last night. She's barely talking _to_ me."

"You know, it might have something to do with Ten-Ten. I mean, maybe she's being all stubborn and stuff and she doesn't want her sisters to hang out with us anymore – I mean, not that most of us were hanging out with them anyway," Naruto told him with a smile.

"Wrong," Sakura said from behind them. The boys jumped and looked at her. "She doesn't care what we do now. Sure, she's upset that Ino likes you" – she pointed at Shikamaru – "but she said that we can do anything we feel like as long as it's okay with Mom and it doesn't involve having the police on our doorstep." She paused as if thinking this part over. "Anyway, if Ino's not talking to you, it's her choice. Ten-Ten seriously doesn't care."

"Why not? She was on your back about it since your first day here," Naruto pointed out, sounding really confused.

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with Neji. He was at our house at midnight when I was trying to sleep. They were downstairs for over an hour laughing before he finally went home." She stared at them suspiciously as if she thought they knew something.

"Neji…at your house?" Shikamaru stuttered. "I wonder what he was doing…"

"Why don't you ask him? He and Ten-Ten get to come back to school today, right?" Sakura asked, flipping her hair.

"I think…Probably," Naruto muttered, nodding his head.

The bell rang and Sakura pushed past the boys. "I got to go. Later!" she called happily over her shoulder.

"Why was Neji at their house?" Naruto asked as Shikamaru walked away. "Hey, hey, Shikamaru! Wait up!"

--

"Hey, Ten-Ten," Neji said, smiling as he walked up beside her.

"Oh, hey, Neji," Ten-Ten replied, smiling as well. "What's up?"

"Not much; I just saw you walking alone and I thought you could use some company," Neji explained, sounding silly as he tried for a sweet tone.

They walked down the hallway for a few minutes and then Ten-Ten finally asked, "Does this mean it's over?"

Neji looked at her curiously before answering, "All those pranks? Only if you want them to be over." He smiled after he said that, like he thought it was a joke or something.

"I kind of want them to end," Ten-Ten said uncertainly. "They were getting vicious."

"That was the fun part," Neji told her. He lost his smile when she looked at him angrily. "Your reactions fueled them, you know."

"Does that make you a baby then?" Ten-Ten asked pleasantly, smiling in triumph. Neji pretended to pout and looked away as they continued walking down the halls. She shoved him and laughed.

--

Naruto watched Hinata walk outside with Sakura and Ino. Ten-Ten wasn't with them because she was at the boys table with Neji. Naruto leaned out of the tree a little, checking to see where the three girls were going. He was so angry; so were Shikamaru and Sasuke, but they didn't want to help Naruto. The girls picked a table just across from the tree Naruto was in. He pulled out one of the water balloons he'd hidden carefully in his backpack and threw it at Hinata. It hit her in the head and she screamed, standing up. Sakura and Ino stood up too and started looking around. Some of the other kids around were laughing. He pulled another balloon out and threw it at Sakura, hitting her shoulder but getting one side of her head wet. She screamed as well. Naruto tried not to laugh as he threw a third balloon at Ino. Just as she was turning to look in his direction, the balloon hit her – in the face. She screamed and Naruto hid himself behind the leaves of the tree. He had one more balloon left. He'd been expecting Ten-Ten to be there too but since she wasn't…

He pulled out the last balloon and threw it at Hinata as he yelled, "Go home, bitches! No one wants you here!" He grabbed his backpack and heaved it onto his shoulders. Naruto slipped down the tree and ran inside the school as fast as he could. He'd be in deep shit if the girls decided to tell the principal.

--

"He's such a jack-ass!" Ino cried, drying her face with a paper towel. "I can't believe him! What's his malfunction anyway?"

Hinata took a paper towel and started drying her face as well. "I don't know but I can't stand him."

"We should tell the principal. We can totally get him suspended for this. It's harassment!" Sakura declared, wringing out her hair in the bathroom sink.

"You're right…" Ino agreed, throwing away the paper towel and pulling her hair down out of its ponytail. "And if he gets suspended then it'll just show how much power we have. We've already suspended Neji. One more of them…"

"I don't know…Don't you think that might just piss them off even more?" Hinata asked quietly, throwing away her towel. She started tugging at the hairpins in her hair, letting it all fall down. "If they get even more pissed off then we might be in even more trouble than we already are."

"Hinata…Listen to yourself! We need to get revenge on them. Remember what they've done to us? They've dumped paint on my hair, they've gotten Ino in trouble, they've teased you and they've dumped paint on all of us! That and so much more! And you want to spare them?" Sakura demanded. "They've got it coming."

Hinata thought about this for a moment and then declared, "Stop what you're doing and gather the evidence. We're going to the principal to get Naruto suspended!"

--

_"Naruto Uchiha, please come to the office. Naruto Uchiha, come to the office please," _the secretary called over the intercom. Naruto looked over at Shikamaru and Sasuke who glared at him. He dragged himself from his seat, gathered his things and left. When he got to the office, the secretary pointed to the principal's office. He walked in and froze. Hinata sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk looking innocent and scared. She had her hair down and curled around her face to add to the "innocent" part of the equation; she was dripping wet as well. Naruto gulped and sat down next to her.

The principal cleared his throat and looked at Naruto. "It's come to my attention that you've been harassing Hinata and her sisters."

"Where are they, anyway?" Naruto asked, suddenly aware of their absence and scared to know why they weren't there.

"They went home," Hinata told him softly, casting him a shy look.

"Anyway," the principal started again. "Apparently it's been going on for awhile they're getting scared to come to school." Hinata smiled wickedly and ducked her head.

"And you haven't noticed until now. What a wonderful principal you are," Naruto commented, leaning back in his chair and grinning. He felt shaky though; this wasn't going well.

"I can't keep an eye on all the students at once. I thought you weren't like Sasuke or Neji. And yet, here you are." The principal smiled grimly. "To the point? You're suspended for a week."

Naruto felt all the blood rush from his face. This really wasn't good. "What?! But I haven't –"

"Naruto…" The principal stood up, putting his hands on his desk. "Stop. No excuses this time. It looks like trouble runs in your family, ne?" The bell rang and he turned to Hinata with a warm smile on his face. "You can go now."

She looked up at him with a weak smile and muttered, "Thanks, sir." She stood up, turned and cast one more mischievous look at Naruto before she strolled out of the office.

"This so isn't fair…" Naruto murmured, glancing down at the papers that the principal was filling out.

"Where have I heard that before?" he asked distantly as he handed Naruto his papers. "Have fun."

"I will," Naruto retorted as he stormed out of the office to meet his brothers. Ten-Ten was among them – big surprise. He sauntered up to her and shoved her. "I hate you!" He took off before Neji could process what had happened. Ever since those girls had showed up, everything was wrong. His brothers weren't having fun anymore and they kept getting in trouble. They were _dating_ now! Neji was serious about Ten-Ten and Naruto knew it. Where had all their fun gone? What had happened to all their morals?

Naruto pushed through the front doors and ran toward the school parking lot. He sprinted out onto the sidewalk and down the street. Everything was wrong, all wrong. And it was all those girls' fault. His brothers were mad at him and they'd never been before; sure, they'd teased him about being an idiot or would get briefly mad at him, but this was different. They were really and truly mad at him. Neji was seriously dating and they'd never done that before; they'd always considered girls to be toys, something they could play with until they were bored. But they'd never thought of these girls like that – they were enemies. It sounded so childish, now that Naruto thought about it; still, it was true. Neji had betrayed them and Sasuke and Shikamaru were alright with it.

Everything was all wrong now.

--

"What the fuck?!" Ten-Ten screeched, getting up without Neji's help. It wasn't that he wasn't trying to help, but she just didn't want it. "What is his deal?!"

"He just got suspended," Hinata told them quietly, walking out of the office. They all stared at her blankly. "Ten-Ten, he threw water balloons at us and got us all soaked. Ino and Sakura went home to change; I was just about to go too. We were tired of him and all his brothers harassing us."

"They aren't doing anything," Ten-Ten protested, ignoring Sasuke who cleared his throat to remind the girls of their presence. "Neji said they'd stop."

"Someone didn't get the message," Hinata muttered darkly. "Besides, when did you decide to start trusting him, huh?" Ten-Ten froze, looking at Hinata in horror. "I called mom earlier; she said I can move into the office." And she walked away silently, slipping out the front doors.

Ten-Ten straightened up and stared at the ground, fighting back tears. There were still two periods left in the day but she wanted to go home now. She stiffly turned and shoved past the boys, hurriedly walking to her locker. Her own sister didn't want her around. As she reached her locker, the realization struck her and she started crying. When did school get so emotional? She spun her combination in, opened her locker and started pulling books out. Everything had been so simple before they'd moved. Now nothing was easy.

"Are you alright?" Ten-Ten jumped and started wiping her eyes. She glanced at Gaara and almost broke down again.

"I'm fine. It's just…Hinata doesn't want to be around me anymore and Naruto's suspended – I don't even know why I care about that," Ten-Ten babbled, shoving books into her backpack. "School just got way more difficult, is all."

"Wasn't it already hard?" Gaara asked, catching a book that slipped from Ten-Ten's hand before it landed. "I mean, weren't those boys tormenting you and all that?"

"Yeah, but this is different," Ten-Ten muttered, taking the book from his hand. "Thanks. Now I'm sort of dating Neji and I guess his brothers are mad at me. I have no idea why Hinata was so pissed at me though."

Gaara was silent for a minute and then he said, "I bet she was so pissed because you can't relate to them anymore. One of those stories you told me once…Didn't you say that you guys were really close?"

"We are…" Ten-Ten trailed off as she realized what he was saying. "I totally betrayed them with this…"

"I should go find Kiba…" Gaara murmured absentmindedly.

"Wait, that guy that hung around Hinata for awhile and then just kind of vanished?" Ten-Ten asked, closing her locker door and looking at him.

"He didn't go anywhere. I guess you could say he faded." Gaara stared over her shoulder and his voice was distant. "Sasuke threatened him and he backed off of Hinata. He really does like her, but he knows better."

"Could you be more specific?" Ten-Ten inquired impatiently.

"I don't know specifics," Gaara replied, looking back at her. "All I know is that Kiba likes Hinata but he's too afraid to get close to her, no thanks to Sasuke." He stared at her with an eerily dark expression. "Those Uchihas sound like bad news. Everything I hear about them is bad." He shook his head. "Maybe you should back off of Neji. It would be pretty bad if he decided you weren't worth it."

"You're listening to rumors?" Ten-Ten asked, smiling mockingly. "I didn't think you were the sort of guy who'd do that."

"They aren't rumors. They're accounts of what people went through," Gaara stated bluntly. "Most of the girls in this school all got viciously dumped by at least one of them. A few girls said that both Neji and Sasuke had about three girls attached to their arms at a time. It doesn't sound fun."

"Are you…" she hesitated. "Worried about me?"

Gaara stared at her intensely and replied, "You're the first friend I've ever had. I'd hate to see you hurt." He walked around her and sauntered down the hall. The bell rang and Ten-Ten sprinted to her next class; everything that Gaara had said swarmed around in her head as she ran. Was Neji really that dangerous?

--

_**A/N: I am having fun with this again. I mean, after that really long gap where I lost interest in this story, I think I'm picking it up nicely. This story is kind of fun for me to write because I get to focus more on their feelings rather than all the events and shit that I have to in all my other stories. I mean, even 'Rendered Weak' focuses more on events and actions rather than emotions. So when I really want to just, like, let loose I can work on this. Sad that the only character I can really keep **_**in character **_**is Gaara, huh? And even he's OOC some…-sigh- **_

_**Well, obviously, I haven't given up on this quiet yet. So stay tuned and I'll see what else I can come up with.**_

_**--  
**_

_**To my reviewers:**_

_**From: GReeN-PuNK-PRINCeSS**_

Great Story...  
But one thing... Sasori and Deidara are NOT Gay -.-...

lolz

update soon pretty please with cherry n top I laughed when (Spoiler) Hidan said that to Kakuzu in Shippuden 77-78 xD

_**To: GReeN-PuNK-PRINCeSS**_

_Oh touché! I can say otherwise about Sasori and Deidara. They may not sound gay, but…I have my suspicions…_

_I haven't seen that one yet…it sounds really funny. Do you know where it is in the manga?_

_**From: Apple Bubblegum**_

YAY! NO RED LINEE!

I agree. SasoDei is the Ultimate. Nothing can beat SasoDei, but yeaah. Others are good too. Haha.

WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO ITACHI?! (I love him, after I found out his true story. Sasuke's an ass now/was always one because now he's trying to destroy Konoha. PTH.

_**To: Apple Bubblegum**_

_Yep, yep! SasoDei RULES! So does HidaKaku…I'm discovering…_

_Eh, Sasuke was always an ass. I don't know what I ever saw in him. Hidan-senpai's so much better. Same with Dei-Dei. Er…I don't really know what happens to Itachi yet…I'll figure it out. Maybe he'll break out of jail or something. Ugh. But then the story would be longer! –dies of horror at the thought of extending the story anymore that need be– _

_**From: NeonAlchemist**_

_wow i didn't think Sasori would be the brother! amazing chapter. can't wait to read wat happens next. i wonder what will happen to Itachi..._

_**To: NeonAlchemist**_

_Why do you people want to know what happens to Itachi so bad? I really don't know! I'll figure that out later. And what happens next…may still be a mystery to even me…well, not in this chapter, I guess…_

_I was pretty shocked that Sasori was their brother! And I was the one who wrote it! 8O_

_**From: NaruHina fan22**_

Update

_**To: NaruHina fan22**_

_Er…Gotta give me more to work with here if you want a reply posted in the chapter…_

_**From: Tentenperson-Kshikamarugal**_

like OMG that is so cool how u did that I'm not pushing but...  
I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT UPDATE!

_**To: Tentenperson-Kshikamarugal**_

_Um…What was so cool about what? Wait…Huh!? THE PRESSURE! THE PRESSURE! Don't yell at Darkmoonphase…she doesn't do well under pressure…_

_**From: Artic Fox7856**_

actully it was quite good please reveiw soon pretty please kyuubi will attack if no review soon(back to happy mood) thanks  
ArticFox7856 out

_**To: Artic Fox7856**_

_-teary-eyed- OMG! I love you! Thank you for having a name that doesn't have a red misspelled line under it!!! You have no idea how much I appreciate that!_

_Ah! No kyuubi! Darkmoonphase no like kyuubi. He's scary…Darkmoonphase update, see? See?_

_--  
_

_**Please review! TTFN, peoples!**_


	12. The Waiting Game

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**--**

**12: The Waiting Game**

"You're really considering this?" Gaara asked tonelessly. "Isn't one threat enough?"

"Sasuke can shove it up his ass," Kiba retorted bitterly, half-concentrating on their project. "Besides, Hinata's not his girl. She's not anyone's yet. I really like her and I think she likes me…"

Gaara stared at him blankly, considering what his friend said. "I guess you're right. And she seems nice enough…"

"She's really nice. You have no idea," Kiba all but cried. "And…" He paused, a sly smile on his face. "I'm anxious to find out what she's hiding under her jacket. There's got to be more to it. But she seemed really upset when I cancelled our date the first time I asked her out. I bet that if I tried again, she'd agree to go somewhere with me."

"Where are you going to go?" Gaara inquired, finally starting to let some emotion slip.

"Wherever she wants that I can afford," Kiba confirmed with a grin.

"Aren't you worried about her sisters?" Gaara questioned, looking down at their project to try and figure out what Kiba was doing.

"No…Should I be?" he replied, watching his friend curiously.

"I guess not. It's just…" Gaara hesitated, not looking up. "Ten-Ten's having issues with Neji and –"

Kiba scoffed. "That's not a big surprise. Neji's an asshole. If she's brave enough to date him, then that's her doom."

Gaara snapped his head up, staring at him. "What?"

"Yeah, you figured most of it out," Kiba muttered, getting confused by Gaara's concern. "He just likes messing with girls. He'll lead them on and then dump them just when they think that he's serious about them. He's dated almost every girl in the school, same with his brothers. The only ones they haven't dated yet are new girls and transfers. Girls are just toys to those guys."

Gaara went back to staring at their project. He took a marker and started writing information as he said, "Anyway, I was going to say: and her sisters seem really pissed about her dating him."

"You think they'll be mad at me too?" Kiba asked, picking out a marker.

"Maybe…They might just have a personal grudge against the Uchiha's. It wouldn't surprise me either, if what I'm hearing is true," Gaara verified distractedly.

Kiba nodded, writing something down as he mumbled, "Yeah, well…the Uchiha's are all asses…"

--

Hinata walked to the elementary school's playground. It'd been awhile since she'd swung on monkey bars – or, rather, fallen off monkey bars. She walked up to the main play area and climbed up to the highest platform. It wasn't that high up, but she felt like she was on top of the world. She spread her arms and let the wind pick at her. After a moment of freedom, she put her arms down and leaned on a railing, looking over the empty playground. Well, almost empty. Naruto sat on a swing, slowly swinging back and forth, as if extremely sad. She watched him curiously for a moment before pulling the note out of her pocket. She still didn't understand the butterflies she got when she read those three simple words. She was in love with Kiba, after all. She'd decided that before she found the note after Kiba had asked her out. But the butterflies were still there, making her stomach lurch and bringing a content smile to her lips.

She slipped from the playground and hesitantly walked over to stand in front of Naruto. They stared at each other in silence for a minute before Hinata finally choked out, "I'm so sorry, Naruto."

Naruto looked away, betrayal burning in his eyes. "About what? Getting me suspended? I don't give a fuck, okay? You got your stupid revenge and got your stupid little way, just like a child. What more do you want?"

Hinata shook her head, guilt starting to make her sick. "No, not about that. I'm sorry that I know how you feel. I'm dating Kiba now." The words stung her tongue. It hurt to be saying something that sounded so cruel. The wind picked up a little, making the other swings creak as they rocked back and forth. Her lower lip trembled. She felt so bad now. "I'm so, so sorry, Naruto."

"If you didn't want to know, you could have told me before," Naruto snapped, standing up and taking the note from her shaking hands. She gasped in surprise. "I didn't know what kind of response I'd get – at most I thought you'd turn me down and say that you didn't like me back. But to hear you say that you _didn't want to know_?"

Hinata looked away, feeling worse than before. "I'm sorry," she whispered wishing she could say more. Suddenly, she felt Naruto's hand under her chin, slowly directing her face back to him. He leaned down and gently kissed her. She savored the moment, getting more and more confused as the seconds ticked by. She yanked away from him abruptly, leaving a wounded Naruto. "I love Kiba!" she cried desperately, turning and running away. This was too confusing.

--

Shikamaru and Sasuke stood by the fence of the elementary school, watching Naruto stand there numbly as Hinata ran off with tears streaking her face. Guilt finally weaseled its way into Sasuke's chest and he stared at the sidewalk blankly. "Shikamaru…" He glanced up but his brother was already thundering down the street the way they had just come. He gritted his teeth in frustration. Now what? He was so confused. Girls were just toys, something to play with until he was bored. But here were four girls who presented a real problem for him and his brothers. _Real love._ His heart pounded faster at this realization. He was in love and he couldn't be. It was against everything he believed.

But what if there could be one girl who was different than all the others? He stared after Hinata, his thoughts on Sakura. She was the one girl who was making him feel anything more than lust. He wanted to hate her, though he really couldn't. He had no experience with these feelings that he harbored. He'd never let himself get so wrapped up in one toy. Why did there have to be someone different? He clenched his fists and hit the fence in front of him, startling Naruto out of his stupor. He turned on his heel and started walking aimlessly away. He really wanted to hate Sakura. Too bad that she didn't make that easier. He sighed in defeat and mumbled to himself, "Guess I'll just have to go with what I feel..." What a suck ass alternative.

--

Sakura felt bad for her sister, Hinata. She'd fallen into some sort of love almost-circle thing. Kiba loved her, Naruto loved her and she loved them both. Well, in Sakura's eyes she did. And Sakura knew a lot about this sort of thing. The endless possibilities…! She'd watched enough soap operas to know that the confused girl would always fall in love with the underdog. And Naruto was the underdog. But first, Kiba needed to go away and stop messing with Hinata's emotions. Oh yes, Sakura could be worrying about her own love life – after all, only an hour ago, Sasuke had shown up on her doorstep with the most beautiful flowers she'd ever seen. Perhaps that was the reason she was so intent on interrupting someone else's love life.

Kiba needed to vanish, of course. But how to do that? Hinata would never flat out tell him that she didn't like him. She'd be roundabout. Same with Naruto. She'd never write a note that said, "I love you". That was too risky. What else could Sakura do? Well, there was always the possibility of manipulating her sister into seeing things her way. Hinata always listened to her. She'd believe anything – even, "Kiba's bad for you. He's like a drug and you totally need to quit."

Yeah, Sakura always got her way.

--

Where was her knight in shining armor now? Probably lounging around somewhere. She felt guilty for being so rude to Shikamaru earlier. But Ino hadn't really known what to do. What her brother had done was something she didn't really like talking about and she hadn't really known how to react. He should have known! His older brother had done shit just like hers. It didn't justify how she had acted though and she knew it. She loved Shikamaru, really she did. But she'd never loved anyone like this. She wasn't sure how things were supposed to go. She knew that there weren't supposed to be secrets involved, that's why she was writing this letter anyway. She needed him to understand where she was coming from, how she felt. She wanted him to know her.

--

Itachi sat on the cot of his cell, perched elegantly and seemingly serenely. This wasn't really a place to fear now. This was more of a second home. He rocked back so he was putting all his weight on his hands. His eyes closed and he smiled one of those rare, sinister smiles. One that anyone passing would know meant that he wasn't planning on staying for long. He heard a scream from a few cells down but didn't even flinch. Probably another one of those prisoners who'd been locked up for too long and were getting shipped away to the local asylum. He was kind of curious as to why he hadn't been locked up there yet. He thought he'd done a fine job at scaring the guards. But maybe that's why he was still sitting in that damn cell.

"Ah, damn. I'm sorry, Itachi," Kisame whispered from the window and Itachi looked over at him calmly. "But it's so you're fault. You didn't even tell me what you were up to. And killing Sasori? What are you, crazy?"

"Funny, I'd just been thinking the same thing moments ago," Itachi murmured, seemingly to himself. "I do hope you have a way to get me out of here."

Kisame shivered. "Yeah." He disappeared, leaving Itachi to wait. It was something he did often and was pretty good at now. So he waited.

--

**This story's weighing me down people. I want it to be over and I can still write out five more chapters if I just took the time. Sorry this is so short. It bothers me that I can't think of anything good to write now. Do we lose interest in things to get tortured? I have to think more on that.**

**In the meantime, to my reviewers:**

_From: Tentenperson-Kshikamarugal_

_sorry dude i had ice cream but anyway... SWEET!_

To: Tentenperson-Kshikamarugal

Ice cream? I want ice cream. And a bit of irony in your comment: ice cream is sweet and now my story is sweet. (It sounded so much cooler in my head…)

_From: HellsPastry_

_Alright, I've waited until reading all chapters to review. At first I was skeptical because well...these school fics are almost ALWAYS bad. It captured my interest for a bit but I found myself skim reading the last two chapters (sorry but I couldn't help it). It seems like everyone else is getting with their respective pairings but Naruto seems to be floating away from his pairing to be replaced by someone else. Now I may be wrong about that after all I skimmed through the last bits. In all it wasn't bad, but I'm not sure if I'll continue reading any new releases as I've gotten somewhat bored with the story. No worries though, fair read mate._

To: HellsPastry

If you have chosen to read more: Touché. God, this story's boring to me and I'm writing it.

Well, you're sort of right. Everyone is definitely thinking about who their supposed to be with (ex: Sakura and Sasuke) but they haven't really reached friendship level – unless you count Shikamaru and Ino into that. And then they're falling apart and yeah, Naruto is sort of getting replaced by Kiba. Not bad for skimming the last two chapters, man.

And, yes, what we read and what we don't read – for whatever reason – is very fair. Peace.

_From: TStar14_

_Yeah! Update plz!_

To: TStar14

Now I know that I will find a new way to say "update".

Thanks for your support. And thanks for having no red misspelled line under your name. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

_From: Apple Bubblegum_

_I feel so happy and redlineless._

_Extended story = AWESOME for readers; troublesome for writer, n'est ce pas?_

_DEIDEI = _

To: Apple Bubblegum

What's n'est ce pas?

Deidei is fucking awesome. And so is Sori no Danna and Hidan-sempai. : )

_From: Artic Fox7856_

_YATTA THANK YOU PLEASE UPDATE MORE PLEASE OR KYUUBI GET OVER HERE UPDATE!  
Artic Fox7856 out_

To: Artic Fox7856

…KYUUBI NO SCARE ME! I'VE GOT…the other demon…oh yeah! I'VE GOT SHUKAKU!! HAHAHAHA! NOW I CAN TAKE FOOOOORRRRREEEEEEVVVVVEEEEEEERRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!

_From: lil and spring_

_lil:OMG I LUV UR STORY ITS WICKED  
spring:yea,AND I LUV THE NEW HINATA  
lil:-high5s spring- oh yea shes dinamite, if only she was like that n the show/manga -rubs hands evily- then we'd b getting somewhere  
spring:lol, update plz  
both:peace and happy Halloween_

To: lil and spring

Do you have a multiple personality disorder or are there two people there? (Dude, I know I looked at your profile, but I've seen so many lately, I forgot if you mentioned anything about your penname…)

_From: NeonAlchemist_

_Good chapter! i can't wait till the next one. It's kinda sad seeing everyone falling apart._

To: NeonAlchemist

It's fun. Making everyone fall apart, I mean.

Glad you like, my oh so faithful reader/reviewer/person/thing…

_From: TwilightRaver_

_I love this story so much. Poor everyone. :(  
i can't wait for the next chapter to come out!  
Keep writing!_

_-TwilightRaver_

To: TwilightRaver

Thanks. Uh…Yeah…Poor everyone. –walks away and laughs evilly before coming back with a smile–

: )

Working on it…

_From: X ANTI NARUxSAKU X_

_GOD DAMNIT YOU JUST LIKE ENDED IT. OMG PLEASE UPDATE PLEASE PLASE PLEASE!_

To: X ANTI NARUxSAKU X

I wish I'd ended it…

Thanks for being supportive. : )

**Thanks, all my fantabulous readers! (Holy crap! Is fantabulous really a word?! Shit! I didn't know that...) Thanks for the support. Did you know, that if you all had stopped pestering me, the story probably would have been discontinued by now? I wish it was... But this is the most popular of all my stories (sad as it is, it's true), so for you, my faithful readers, I will try hard to complete this story.**

**See ya 'round! And please review. **


	13. Remember How To Cry?

**13: Remember How To Cry?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto© or characters thereof. Naruto© was created by Masashi Kishimoto. **

**--**

"Hidan? I have a favor to ask of you…"

--

Ten-Ten tried to ignore the breathing in her ears, but it wasn't working so well. Sasori, Deidara and Ten-Ten all stared at the computer screen while she searched "AKATSUKI". The search wasn't going so great, according to her brother and his boyfriend. The only thing that came remotely close to what they wanted was their gang symbol which was a red cloud outlined in blue. Ten-Ten didn't get it but Deidara told her to forget it. They'd been searching for over an hour and a half. They'd tried "AKATSUKI ARRESTS", "GANG RELATED DEATHS" (that one brought up several different gangs, but nothing about the Akatsuki), "SUSPICIOUS PEOPLE COULD BE IN GANG CALLED AKATSUKI", and more. None of them brought up what they needed.

"They're really good at covering, yeah. I can't…hang on. Type in 'Crazy Iwa Bomber', yeah," Deidara commanded, his hand hovering over Ten-Ten's shoulder as though he really wanted to type it in himself. Sasori gave him an odd look as Ten-Ten did as she was told. "Well…There were several news reports before I joined the Akatsuki that referred to me as that. I'm sure they still do, yeah."

Ten-Ten almost screamed in excitement. "Look, look! Look at how many references I got! There's even something on you joining a gang, Deidara!" She opened the page and started scanning through. "Oh my God! There's even a link to Japan's Most Wanted and look what's at the top of the list!"

"Click it!" Sasori demanded eagerly, pointing at the screen and almost jumping up and down in excitement. She clicked on the link and it brought up a page about a gang named _Akasuki_. "It's spelled wrong. Those dip-shits don't even know how to spell a name…" It showed ten different profiles. Three of them, Ten-Ten recognized immediately: Sasori, Deidara and Itachi. Itachi's said that he was currently in custody. There were four extra profiles as well but they had no pictures as no one knew who they were, only that two of them ran the gang and all of them had committed several crimes themselves under different identities.

"Sneaky," Ten-Ten murmured as she read through some of the profiles. There was Sasori, Deidara, Itachi, Kisame, Hidan, Kakuzu, Zetsu, Tobi, Unknown and Unknown. "Hey, if Zetsu and Tobi have used other people's identities to commit crimes, why do the cops know their names? And since they know their names, why don't they have pictures of them?"

Sasori sighed heavily and Deidara started explaining, "We usually take lots of precautions so we don't get caught, yeah. Obviously, as you can clearly see, only four of us have managed to keep our identities secret. But Tobi and Zetsu don't use other identities; the cops_ think_ they do, but they don't, yeah. They probably pulled up old files that Leader hasn't been able to erase yet. Tobi wears a mask constantly and Zetsu…well, he tattooed his body and dyed his hair green, yeah." Deidara chuckled softly. "I'll bet anything that the cops are scared shitless of Zetsu…"

"The point is, since Zetsu and Tobi don't use different identities when they commit crimes, the police have an easier time tracking them. But Tobi's always wearing a mask, so it's useless to try and take a picture of them because no one would be able to identify him while he's wearing a mask. And for Zetsu, well, we still can't figure out why they haven't taken a picture of him. They might not have pictures of them because they haven't been arrested once in their life," Sasori told his sister, picking up where Deidara left off. "Everyone else except them, Leader and his girlfriend have been arrested."

"I can see that," Ten-Ten muttered with a smug smile. Sasori lightly smacked her upside the head. "Well, do we have what we need?"

Deidara, who'd been reading through two of the profiles while Sasori had been talking, whispered, "Yeah…He was reported missing yesterday along with his partner…"

--

**(Hours later)**

Gaara waited patiently, his hand twitching as it hovered over the remote. _She's fine, _he told himself over and over again._ She's probably at home watching TV or something…_ The commercials ended and the news anchors started on another story. It wasn't the one he was waiting for but he watched with lifeless eyes anyway. Three stories later and the commercials started again. He let out an annoyed sigh. He could go over to her house to see. He shook his head with frustration. He'd seem too desperate at that point. It would be the same if he called.

"Gaara?" Temari asked quietly as she walked into the room. He gave her no notice. "Gaara…maybe you should just go see her. What could it hurt?"

"Everything," Gaara growled defensively. "You should know that. You've been around longer than me, no?" The commercials ended again and a new story started up. "She's my only friend. If I go over to her house, I'm going to seem desperate. I can't call because I don't want to talk to her stupid sisters and it would be awkward. I'm not messing this up for myself." The story he'd been waiting for clicked on and he leaned over in anticipation. After going over what had happened, it said that Ten-Ten was fine. He gave a huge sigh and leaned back in his seat.

Temari stared at her brother sadly. He was right. The girl was the only friend he'd ever made. She was glad that he was so desperate to keep her. She turned around and went to find Kankuro.

--

**(Hours before Gaara watched the news report)**

Ten-Ten walked down the street quietly. She tried to ignore Deidara and Sasori's presence as they walked beside her. This time, it worked. She had so much on her mind. Deidara was a crazy pyromaniac and was dating her older brother; Hidan had just disappeared out of the prison yesterday; Kisame was Itachi's loyal partner so Sasori was saying that he'd get the Uchiha out of jail in no time…Her heart felt like it was being crushed. She was scared. This was real life, not some story in a wonderfully written book. This was really happening and she was in the middle of it.

"Hey…" Sasori tapped Ten-Ten's shoulder and she looked up at him, startled. "You alright?" His maroon eyes shone in the dark from the moon that hung in the starless sky. She nodded, turning her head to watch her feet move. Sasori sighed irritably and turned to talk to Deidara again. She listened to them whisper and listened to their footsteps, counting out the seconds before each step suddenly became in synch. Then she heard those extra footsteps. She stopped, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. Sasori and Deidara looked at her curiously before she spun.

"I was right, you owe me ten bucks, Kakuzu!" a voice behind them cried. Deidara and Sasori turned around, eyes wide. A silver-haired man stood there, wearing a black jacket that was unbuttoned to reveal his chest. He wore deep blue jeans and black tennis shoes. The man next to him had his face covered in a mask and the only thing that showed was his green eyes that somehow managed to reflect red. The mask he wore was attached to a tightly fitted shirt and he wore a red vest over it. His jeans were black along with his shoes.

"I owe you nothing, since I never agreed to such a bet," the man with green eyes replied calmly, his eyes fixed on Ten-Ten whose heart was thumping rapidly, not that she thought he could hear that. She felt paralyzed.

Something in the silver-haired man's hand glinted as he shifted both his hand and gaze. His eyes were a deep blue that bordered on purple. He grinned. "Well, the point is…She is Sasori's little sister. You can totally see it – even in the dark!" Kakuzu hmphed. Sasori was about to step forward when the man raised his arm, gun pointed at Ten-Ten's head. Everything froze. The only sound you could hear was five people breathing heavily into the cool night. "Ah-ah, Sasori. Itachi doesn't want me to shoot you yet. He's waiting for that moment. Nah, the little girl here must've pissed him off real bad." Ten-Ten's knees shook and she heard the click as he set the gun, ready to shoot now. "Move slightly and this is gunna be a hella mess to clean up."

Ten-Ten could practically hear Sasori screaming in his head for her to run. It could have been her imagination; after all, she was no superhuman freak. But out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sasori's eyes flick to her. They held such desperation and urgency. How could that be her imagination? She carefully slid her foot back, much to the man's dismay. He shot the ground next to her and she jumped out of its range. With that leap as momentum, she spun and took off down the street. The thudding of her feet on the asphalt was so loud.

But the gunshot was louder.

"_Ten-Ten_!"

--

Kiba stared at the note taped to his front door with a thudding heart, a heavy heart. With the porch light on, he could clearly see the words scrawled on it and they almost brought tears to his eyes. But tears never came. He knew this was going to happen. Those idiots always messed things up for him. There was no way he could have ever won. He wasn't a prince; he wasn't some knight in shining armor or even a peasant that the princess would ever bother to mess with. He'd been a substitute and he'd known it all along. Hinata had been sucked into that trap and nothing he did would ever save her.

He ripped the note off the door and went inside, furious. He crumpled the paper up and threw it against the wall with the garbage under it. "YOU WIN, YOU JACK-ASS!" he screamed at nothing. He was glad no one else but Akamaru was home. "You win. Are you satisfied yet…?" He dropped to his knees and cried. Akamaru waddled up to him and licked his hand. Kiba forced an unconvincing smile onto his face. He ached, every part of him ached. He shakily got up and went into his room with his puppy hurrying after him. Hinata had never, wasn't, and would never be his. She'd always been Naruto's and that's the way it had to be.

_~Kiba,_

_I'm sorry. I was wrong._

_Hinata~_

**--**

_**A/N: I feel so bad for Kiba…Ah, but now there's room for Naruto to come into Hinata's existence. **_

_**Sorry this is so very painfully short. I tried to extend it but the idea for Ten-Ten's part wouldn't leave my head and it was taking too much space up so I couldn't come up with anything else to write. Sorry!**_

_**To my awesome reviewers:**_

_From: Artic Fox7856_

_YOUR MEAN BUT I LOVE BOTH SHAKUKU AND KYUUBI SINCE THEY ARE BOTH DEMONS BUT I  
AM NOT GAY_

To: Artic Fox7856

Um…Okay… (coughcoughSPAZZcoughcough). Whew! Sorry about that. I have a killer cold. (Actually, I really do…It sucks balls…)

_From: Maki-Zushi_

_Awesome hurry with the next !_

To: Maki-Zushi

Hey! Someone got creative and made up a new way to say "update"! How awesome is that?!

_From: Apple Bubblegum_

_ne c'est pas = is it not?_

_Kiba's an ass._

_UGH. Only the freaks are left in Akatsuki. Well, they were kind of all freaks in the first place, but Deidei, Sasori, Itachi and Hidan were awesomee._

_ITACHI IS LOVE._

To: Apple Bubblegum

Sweet! I know something in…uh…what language is that?

No. Kiba's awesome! He has a really good opinion that no one seems to care about…

Yeah, it's sad. But Pein is so fucking hot…I'll need to post that chapter in 'Stuff 'n Things' soon…

Itachi sucks balls!! Sorry. No, no – your opinion counts. I just don't like him all that much. It has nothing to do with his past that I have – apparently – not seen all the way through. I just don't like him for some reason…

_From: X ANTI NARUxSAKU X_

_okay why aren't Naruto and Hinata together! The only reason I wanted you to continue was because of NARUxHINA! now it's going downhill. Why does Hinata even LOVE kiba ion the first place. Well if you wanna continue get on with the naruxhina lol. And if your not then do what you want but if Kiba ends up with Hinata it should be kibaxhina but I hate them so I probably would stop reading lol. This is a very crazy and confusing review lol. U know i say lol alot. Lol_

To: X ANTI NARUxSAKU X

…

I value your opinion. Did you know, though, that a good story actually progresses and doesn't just skip to all the love crap? In dreams, you can do whatever you want. But in a good story, it takes awhile. …And I'm still trying to figure out how to get them together without making it all sappy…

And it's not going downhill. In fact, it's going uphill as far as I'm concerned. It's just a really high hill…

I said it was NaruxHina for a reason. It's not suddenly going to change. Lol.

_From: TStar14_

_Heck yeah, you BETTER update, cause if you don't, I'm a be MAD!_

To: TStar14

I'm a tired of this story. I'm a tired of the word "update". See if that word escapes my lips anytime soon.

_From: NeonAlchemist _

_sorry your getting kinda bored with this story. but hey i still like it =D still can't wait until the next chapter!_

To: NeonAlchemist

And that's why this story is still going: Because you care. Also, because I said – way back when – that I'd actually finish this story. That tortures me inside. (jk)

Glad you still like it! And yet another wonderfully creative way to tell me to get the next chapter out!

_From: Tentenperson-Kshikamarugal_

_WE! This is good! HYPER! -does the hyper dance- :P can't wait!_

To: Tentenperson-Kshikamarugal

Are you constantly hyper?? Thanks for being creative in telling me to work on the next chapter!

_**Thanks, peeps!**_

_**I'm going to promote a new story real quick. I'll probably post it…on the 20**__**th**__** or the 23**__**rd**__**. It's called: "His Last Christmas Wish". It's a TobiXZetsu Xmas story. It's…um, actually pretty sad. But I made the ending happy…er. So keep an eye out for it around those dates if you like that pairing. Thanks so much!**_

_**Also, please check out my poll if it's showing up on my profile yet. I'd really appreciate it if you vote. X3**_

_**Don't forget to drop a review if you'd like! It makes me want to work harder. **_


	14. You Came For Me

**14: You Came For Me**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto© or characters thereof. Naruto© was created by Masashi Kishimoto. **

**--**

Ten-Ten listened to the steady beeping of the heart monitor above her head, it stabilized her breathing too because she was unconsciously matching her breath with the beeps. There were voices in the background as well, a few that were familiar – Sasori, Sakura, Deidara, Hinata, Ino – and some that were unrecognizable. People were bustling about and there was lots of crying. And as she listened, she thought, _I should open my eyes and tell them that I'm okay. _But she couldn't. Her voice felt like it was stuck in the back of her throat and her eyes felt like they were glued shut. She could only listen and become even more overwhelmed with the want to assure them that she felt fine.

She listened to the voices for what felt like forever before the one she really wanted to hear spoke up. "Ten-Ten?" Neji whispered, his breath on her ear. She smiled and made some sort of noise to let him know she heard him. "You're an idiot." She frowned. "I don't understand why you did something so stupid. Were you just trying to get them arrested or something? Because that worked, just so you know. Still, you could've been killed. You're lucky he had bad aim. What would we have done if you had died? Hmm?"

Ten-Ten didn't have an answer to that. She hadn't actually thought about that. In fact, she doubted that she'd been thinking at all when she'd run away like that. What _would_ they have done if she had died? She focused hard on that, letting her imagination free. It wasn't pretty and she felt like crying. She could've died and it would have been because of her stupidity. She tried to whisper that she was sorry but she couldn't hear herself. Neji put one hand on her forehead and told her, "I'm glad that you're all right, though." His voice…his touch…it was soothing. If only she could open her eyes so she could see him…

--

Hinata swayed gently on one of the swing sets on the elementary school playgrounds. She leaned her head on her right hand and sighed, trying not to cry. Kiba had stopped talking to her – the reason unknown to her – and her sister was in the hospital. Everything was going downhill. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the movement of the swing. Suddenly, she felt someone's hands wrap gently around her waist. They pushed her carefully and caught her again. Her eyes snapped open. "Hey…Hinata," Naruto murmured, shoving her slightly again. "Why'd you break-up with Kiba? I thought you said you loved him."

She was silent, thinking. She could tell him the truth; say that she didn't know what he was talking about because she _hadn't_ broken up with him. Or she could lie; tell him that she had done it because she wanted to be with him. It was difficult to decide but eventually, she whispered, "I lied when I said that I loved him. I was a little confused then…" That was the truth – even if she hadn't known it until that moment.

Naruto was quiet for a beat and then he asked, "So do you love someone else then?" He pushed her a little harder, swinging her higher.

"Yeah…" Hinata muttered and smiled softly. "At least…I think I do."

He caught her and, in her ear, whispered, "Will you tell me who?" He shoved her away gently.

"I think I love you." She jumped off the swing, letting the wind rush into her face and blow her hair back. She landed hard and looked back at him. He grinned.

--

Sakura sat down on her front porch, watching the street lamps flicker on as the sun slowly sank behind the mountains. This was the second time one of her sisters had ended up in the hospital. Everything had been easier before they'd moved. And why had they moved to the same city and Sasori was living in?! She stood up and kicked a pebble, sending it cascading through the sky until it landed in the gutter and bounced a little. And then there was Sasuke…The guy who had tormented her throughout the first part of the year and then suddenly showed up on her doorstep with flowers.

She stared at the pavement until she heard someone walking up. She snapped her head up to see Sasuke at the foot of the pathway to her door. He didn't have anything with him this time and he was just staring at her with a blank expression. Her heart sank as she realized that he wasn't here for more than anything but to maybe sympathize with her over her sister – and even that seemed like she was pushing her luck.

"It all must seem overwhelming," Sasuke finally said, distracting Sakura with his voice. "One minute I hate you, the next I don't know what to think of you and suddenly all I want is to be with you…And on your end, it's worse because somewhere between me finding my feelings for you and now, your sister ended up in the hospital."

"How did this moment end up on your timeline?" Sakura asked suspiciously. He walked over to her hesitantly, watching her carefully until he was standing right in front of her. She gasped startled and earned a small smile from the usually staid boy. "Are you going to answer me or not?" she snapped, trying to cover how nervous she was.

"This moment ended up on my timeline because this is the instant when I ask you out," he answered seriously. She stared at him, baffled, and he chuckled softly. "Sakura, do you think you could find time to go out with me soon?" She stood there for a second and then nodded, smiling widely.

"Sasori…" Deidara started, startling Sakura and Sasuke. "Does this mean that everything's going to get better from here on out, yeah?" He looked at his boyfriend curiously, his cerulean eye hopeful.

The redhead stayed quiet for a moment before smiling suddenly and murmuring, "I do, actually, believe that everything will get better now." He glanced over at his sister and the boy and said, "I bid thee farewell, younglings. Sleep well, Sakura."

Sakura beamed and waved. "Goodnight, you guys."

--

**A/N: -ashamed- I wanted to end it. It's a burden. However, I didn't realize how short this ending chapter would be. To make up for it, I have two surprises. The first is that I will do an epilogue so I don't disappoint you people too much. The second is I'm actually going to let anyone who wants to write a sequel to this write a sequel. I'll be taking the first person who wants to – if anyone wants to. If no one wants to then this will be the end of the story. In order to tell you the winner, I'll reply to them and then I'll tell everyone who won in the epilogue's author note at the beginning. **

**Again, I apologize for the shortness of this chapter – and story, while I'm at it – but I hoped you enjoyed it all anyway. To my reviewers:**

_From: Tentenperson-Kshikamarugal – no its just uh... I'm not sure... -bliknks- anyway... sweet! X3_

To: Tentenperson-Kshikamarugal – Aw…Your enthusiasm makes me guilty…

_From: Musical Demon Obsessed Girl88 – please update soon and who are you calling a spazz well guess what it takes a spazz to know a spazz but since your story is good i am still going to reveiw spazz_

To: Musical Demon Obsessed Girl88 – Yes, I am a spazz. Thank you for noticing. My story is actually good?? I'll take it…

_From: Apple Bubblegum – HAHAHA. ACtually, I'm not sure if it's 'n'est-ce pas' or 'ne c'est pas' BECAUSE MY FRENCH (yes,it'sfrench) SUCKS._

_Aww, really? I love Itachi. His eyes are sexy.  
And his past is so awesome._

To: Apple Bubblegum – Alright…I don't speak any other language but English so even if you know just that much in French, you're doing better than me. Lol.

I don't really hate Itachi but he's not one of my favorites. And as for his past? Well, I can't find anything awesome about it but I feel bad for him…

_From: NeonAlchemist – Can't wait for your next update! It keeps gettin better!_

To: NeonAlchemist – Oh…now I feel guilty because I feel like I just trashed the story…

_From: Maki-Zushi – This is great as usual! I feel bad for Kiba too, but I have the strangest feeling that Hinata didn't write that...hm...now I forgot it! Please hurry with the next! Love this! _

To: Maki-Zushi – I feel bad for Kiba – especially since I didn't mention him much in this chapter…Ha-ha. I didn't think about someone else writing the note until you mentioned it. We had two totally different ideas and then I used yours…heh…Thanks for that.

_From: TwilightRaver – Intense chapter.  
I feel bad for Kiba-kun. =(  
But a great chapter never the less!_

_-TwilightRaver_

To: TwilightRaver – It was but this one kind of ruined it, if you ask me.

Poor Kiba-kun. I'm so mean to him.

And a sucky chapter right after a good one. How sad is that?

**I hope you'll forgive me long enough to read the epilogue that I will start on so I can finish it so you won't get even angrier at me! Please review… But no hate reviews, please.**


	15. Epilogue: This Is It

**Epilogue: This Is It**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto© or characters thereof. Naruto© was created by Masashi Kishimoto. **

_**A/N: The winner…the person who gets to write the sequel is…oOoAleXandRiAoOo!! Everyone clap! And keep an eye out for her sequel to this story because I'm sure it will be good. : ) **_

_**I apologize for the shortness of not only the epilogue but also this story. I regret that I lost interest in it otherwise, I'm sure, I would have made it longer and I would have worked harder on it. But I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you'll like the epilogue. **_

--

Deidara and Sasori waited patiently outside the movie theater, watching for the girls and their dates. Deidara was smiling at the redhead who looked grumpy – as usual. "Jeez, Master Sasori, I know you're a little wary about them dating because they're so 'young' but that's why we decided on the group date, yeah! Loosen up or else tonight will suck," he told him playfully.

Sasori gave him a weary look. "It's not that they're young it's that I feel _old_…" he mumbled, glancing away with a blush. "I've never had to worry about my age until now. I mean, I feel…I don't even know! It's not fair!"

"You're not old, yeah," Deidara snapped, putting his hands on his hips. "If you were old, I wouldn't be here with you right now!" The redhead gave him a horrified look. "I'm kidding, Master 'Sori! I'll be here forever, yeah…"

"It's like one of those princess movies we watched when we were little!" Hinata squealed, walking up and giggling happily. Shikamaru sighed from behind her.

"It's about time you got here," Sasori huffed, trying to cover the blush on his face from his sisters. "I was beginning to fear that we'd have to wait even longer for the next showing…"

Ten-Ten laughed loudly. "Whatever. You're the most impatient person I know, Sasori." He sent her a venomous glare. "Let's get in there, then." She took Neji's hand and led him into the movie theater. They bought their tickets and were walking to their movie when Hinata and Sakura both stopped. Their friends turned to look at them, curious.

"Hey," Kiba murmured, walking up. Sasuke glared at him.

"Hi…" Hinata whispered, shifting a little.

"So," he started, glancing at the group. "You found your friends, huh?"

"Kiba…" she muttered, making it sound almost like a warning.

"I'm glad. You know, maybe someday I'll find my friends." He grinned. "And I don't blame you for your choices…Just be careful, alright?" Hinata smiled and nodded. He playfully punched her shoulder as he walked past. "Have fun…"

"But I still want to be your friend," she protested, turning and catching him before he could get too far.

Kiba smiled sadly at her. "I'm afraid that it doesn't work like that…" She stared at him, curious. "I don't get along well with your new friends – I would've thought that you'd figured that out by now. It was fun and I'm glad that you managed to make these friends." He bowed partially and when he stood straight again, he was grinning lightheartedly. "Until we meet again, fair lady…" He turned and left the theater, leaving Hinata staring after him.

"Jeez, what was that about? What century does he think we live in?" Sakura asked as her sister turned back around. Hinata didn't say anything but instead skipped to Naruto's side and gave her brother the biggest smile she could manage. Sasori laughed at her attempts.

"Please, can we go in now? I'd like to be in there before the movie ends," he said, exasperated. "You've had your closure now I'd like to have some fun…"

Deidara sighed. "You're so uptight, Master Sasori! Seriously, you need to loosen up, yeah!"

"I did loosen up!" the redhead snapped and walked brusquely to their theater.

"No you didn't but…whatever, yeah," the blonde murmured and motioned for the others to follow. And, snickering, they did.

--

A woman with blue hair knocked on a door. Without waiting for an answer, she slid the door open and slipped into the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. "Sir?" A man stood in front of a glass wall, staring out at the busy streets below him. "We've located Deidara and Sasori." He turned and smiled at her.

"Wonderful," he whispered. "But I'll be sure to take care of them later. I've got other things to worry about. Like how to get Hidan and Kakuzu out of jail and then what I'm going to do to them when I do…" He sighed angrily. "Have you heard anything from Zetsu?"

"No, sir," the woman reported in her soft voice. "However, Kisame called earlier and confirmed that he'd gotten Itachi out of jail. After that, nothing has been heard from anyone else."

The man nodded and turned back to the window wall. "Sometimes that's a good thing…"

--

(THE NEXT DAY)

"Hey, Gaara," Ten-Ten greeted happily. It was about noon when she'd heard someone knocking on the front door. When she'd seen Gaara, she'd felt kind of guilty because she hadn't really been thinking about him since before the accident. "What's up? Want to come inside?" She swung her arm out and sidestepped but he didn't move.

"No, thank-you," he murmured. "I haven't really seen you since your accident so I wanted to make sure that you're alright." She nodded and smiled. "I know that you're seeing Neji – and I don't really mind, that's your decision. But I wanted to make sure that we'll still be friends."

"Yeah…Of course," she told him, wondering why he would ever think that they wouldn't be. "In fact, I was going to ask if you wanted to go somewhere later today."

Gaara smiled slightly and nodded. "Yes, that sounds fun…" While they talked, all he could think about was how glad he was that they were still going to be friends. He would still have a friend – no matter what had happened to either of them. He was really happy. He had a real friend and he'd do anything to make sure that she was going to be okay.

But they both had the feeling that everything would be all right for awhile.

--

_**A/N: Hey, I finally finished the story. It took me two years but it's done! :D **_

_**oOoAleXandRiAoOo, I hope you don't mind that I put in that bit with Pein and Konan. I thought that it might give you something more to work with since I didn't give much else…**_

_**Thanks for your support, oOoAleXandRiAoOo and Tentenperson-Kshikamarugal. You guys stuck around and finished reading the story and I appreciate it so, so much. I hope I didn't disappoint you too much. **_


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